Interlude II: A posse ad esse (Vongola Estate / Venice, Italy / Four Years Future)
A/N: I know I've let this languish for too long. I'm sorry everyone. I took a job that I love but which required an extreme amount of work to straighten out the mess left behind by others, and I've spent three months working through that. But things have settled now and I'm determined to get this story back on schedule. Because of the holiday, I'm posting this without being beta read, so I apologize for any mistakes I've missed.
I've wanted to write more of Fong and Verde for a while, because I adore them as characters. I should also mention I've been torn on the whole Fong/Fon name issue. I started with Fong at the beginning and so I'm sticking with it for consistency. So if it does bother you, just ignore the 'g' and enjoy the rest.
This interlude takes place after Tsuna and his Family relocated to Italy, but before all of the other 'future-based' interludes, being set four years from the current story line. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope you all have an amazing New Year holiday.
Of all the many decisions he'd made in his life, Verde would have to admit that one of the few that he found he truly appreciated much later in life was the choice that Vongola Decimo had given Verde when he'd had the Varia capture him. Although it was painful to admit to anyone else, much less himself, he'd been bordering dangerously on the edge of madness and slipping over that edge more and more often. He had been for quite a while when the Arcobaleno Trials had finally occurred. It had reached a point where he'd begun to log the problem in a digital journal while searching for a potential solution.
It wasn't something he was proud of and it was certainly something he'd never discuss willingly with anyone, but being restrained to one location and having his mind focused on designated projects had helped him regroup, allowing him to pull himself out of the chaos that his frustration over his cursed body had caused. The sheer physical limitations of his infant's body had infuriated him from the moment he'd realized what the curse had done to him. He'd rebelled in every way he could find, struggling constantly to find a way out of this ridiculous, illogical, absurdly magical trap.
Verde had always been dangerously brilliant and had never once resented it in the least until the day he found himself talked into agreeing to take on this ridiculous curse. If he'd had any idea how much it would limit his freedom in the end, especially his ability to use his own body, he would have refused without a second thought. It was one thing to have some concern for the well-being of the world around him and an entirely different thing to sacrifice your freedom and your life, to be stuck living the rest of it in a form that deliberately limited your power and destroyed your chances at any sort of real life. Left alone with only his pet for company, he'd found himself resentful and angry. The resentment had grown and poisoned him over the years, making him colder, darker and even cruel in the end.
That had started to change unexpectedly the day Sawada Tsunayoshi defeated him during the trials, sparking his interest. His clever eyes and diagnostic tools had noticed the scientific gadgets Sawada had used to control his flames and it sparked inspiration in Verde. He'd kept a silent eye on the boy over the next year or so and found himself even more interested, if quite annoyed, when the Varia stormed his compound and seized both himself and all of his research. He'd made it hard and painful for them, but he'd had to admit he was curious about why they'd come to capture him and so he'd allowed it for the moment.
His negotiations with the young Vongola Decimo had only fueled his interest, and he had to admit now that things had worked out for the best in many ways. He had gained an exceptional workspace, an enormous budget, and he was able to pursue the avenues of research he'd already been obsessing over for years. That alone was enough to keep him content for quite a while, but then he'd received another set of unexpected benefits that he found he appreciated even more than the additional income and excellent research facilities.
"Yo! You're blocking the doorway again, old man." The soft but steady voice came from behind him, rousing him from his surveying glance over the mechanical portion of the enormous subterranean laboratory that he claimed ownership of. Tilting his head back and turning slightly, he spotted the blond head of one of those benefits standing behind him, looking sleepy.
"You should be used to it by now," Verde replied, smirking slightly at him. "You've been here for two years, and there hasn't been a day yet where you aren't shoving me out of the doorway."
He'd found over time that he'd developed a fondness for Spanner that dated back to his early days at the Vongola estate. The kid had a brilliant mind focused entirely on mechanics and technology of all sorts. It fascinated Verde to see another mind that held a level of aptitude that might match his own eventually, if it was allowed to fully develop. So he'd somehow found himself taking the kid under his wing, first by email with the occasional video conference, and then eventually Spanner had ended up in his lab with him when the younger Family members had relocated to Italy two years later.
"We are." A second voice warmed the room, softer but with a humorous tone to it, as though endlessly amused by this routine of theirs. "But that doesn't mean we won't hassle you about it until you let us in."
Verde's smirk widened, growing into what could almost be called a smile at the sight of Shouichi standing behind Spanner. "You boys are early this morning. I was just admiring your work."
Shouichi was another benefit of allowing the Vongola to keep Verde leashed. He was brilliant as well, with a mind to rival Spanner's. His interests were more diverse, however, and Verde had made exceptional use of his talents over time. It was almost unnatural to him, the enjoyment he found in their company, spending late hours in the labs or garages working on new inventions, improving older ones, or just challenging each other for the fun of it.
He also found himself somewhat fond of Hayato, who was brilliant as well, but in different ways. Hayato kept them organized and focused, was able to keep stocked what they didn't even realized they needed and best of all, made sure they ate regularly. There were days he contemplated stealing the boy from Sawada and locking him in the labs with them permanently.
"We would have been here earlier but we got distracted on the way to breakfast," Spanner told him, leaning against him and resting his chin on Verde's shoulder from behind, a friendly arm winding around his waist. "Shou-chan was feeling frisky and we had to find a private room before we could eat."
"Spanner!" Shouichi flushed a deep red and adjusted his glasses, something that always amused Verde. "People don't need to hear things like that. It's private!"
"Brats," Verde murmured and stepped aside, allowing them in. "My breakfast hasn't even arrived yet."
Shouichi frowned slightly at that. "I'll talk to the staff again, Verde. They're supposed to be available to you with a respectful response time. It's rude of them to delay your meals like that. Tsuna would disapprove of it if he knew it was happening so regularly."
"It's irritating," Spanner agreed calmly, sliding past Verde to reclaim his favorite workbench, slumping into his chair with a pleased sigh. "It's not like they don't all benefit from the work we're doing down here."
Verde had to chuckle softly at their frustration. "Benefits or not, I'm still a prisoner here. They know that and they treat me the way they feel I deserve to be treated. There's a vast divide between Family, and not."
He gestured down to his left leg, where the outline of the security cuff Sawada insisted on was evident, even through his pants. It had been switched out when relief had come from the curse and he'd regained his normal size, but it was just as dangerous as the original version. It ran the length of the calf and he was well aware that if he left the area of the estate set aside and secured for him, it was very likely to take his leg off for him. He'd reluctantly avoided attempting to hack his way into the electronics of it because it was also likely that his attempt to disarm it might actually trigger it. Better to be safe and two-legged while he wanted the funding for his research than to be arrogant and spend the rest of his long life rolling around on wheels or limping like a pirate until he managed to build something suitable as a replacement.
It made him wonder sometimes what the young Vongola Decimo thought he would do that Verde needed to be so significantly restrained. Then he would think back to the darker paths his mind had been taking at the point in time that he'd been captured, and he would shrug. It's true that he was just as likely to kill off his fellow Arcobaleno as help them, back then. Everyone knew how fond Sawada was of that irritating bastard Reborn, something Verde couldn't understand and found completely illogical. He could, however, understand the importance of protecting what you wanted to keep safe.
Still, as irritating as being imprisoned and tracked was, the benefits currently outweighed the imposition of it and Verde was nothing if not painfully logical when it came to getting what he wanted and needed. At least here at the Vongola estates his research was well-funded, he was able to make use of these two boys full time, he had permission to use Hayato when he was available and he was able to access Shamal's vast if somewhat eerie medical knowledge. It allowed him to exponentially increase the rate of his research and his production of weaponry and other tools, which he was quite enjoying.
There were other benefits he enjoyed as well, especially now that he was somewhat close to his original size. It frustrated him to this day that the closest he could get to normal was still a good almost-decade from where he'd started out when taking on the curse, but he could live with missing a few years of physical maturity if it meant that he wasn't knee high to everyone around him. Someday he'd figure out the glitch in their solution and finish the job, but for now he was satisfied with how things were.
The sheer sensuality of the Sawada household, for example, had proven to be quite an unexpected but pleasant benefit, especially with three young men eager to learn from him. Originally some part of him had mourned the lack of truly intelligent females in Sawada's Family, but he'd had to quickly admit to himself that Shouichi and Spanner more than made up for that with enthusiasm and creativity. Hayato was entertaining as well, as long as he wasn't caught up in the drama of his life at the time. It meant that he rarely had to sleep alone if he wanted company, which did a lot to take the edge off of his temper.
Lately, however, he'd been more reluctant to take advantage of their willingness and people had begun to notice. He wasn't sure if they thought he was distancing himself in preparation for an attempted escape or maybe that he was slowly losing his mind again, or his personal favorite, that he'd fallen in love with someone unattainable. The simple truth, however, was that he was bored with it. He'd never expected in his lifetime to become bored with sex, especially not after being able to actually have it again, but it had taken just a couple of years for him to reach this point.
There would be another move soon, he was sure, in the mental game of chess that he played with Sawada and Reborn that was tied up in maintaining the balance of power that kept him here in such a way that he wasn't inclined to rebel and actually put any effort into escaping. Verde wasn't stupid, and he was fully aware that if Sawada was still inclined to hold him here at the estates then the external risk to Verde's life still existed, along with the strong chance there was another power out there who might be inclined to manipulate his research in a way that would be damaging to the Vongola. Still, it wouldn't do to let them think he was relying on their protection, so he made them work to keep him comfortable and disinclined to actually attempt an escape that was likely to be successful.
Much to his surprise, the next move came earlier than he expected. In fact, it walked in the door a few minutes later with his breakfast on a tray, and all Verde could do was stare blankly for a long moment. Then he started to swear under his breath, eyes narrowing as he plotted Reborn's brutal end. There was playing the game and then there was playing dirty, and this fell far into the deep end of playing dirty. He could feel his temper honing itself to a sharp edge as he watched his doom approach him.
"If you continue to frown like that, you're going to get wrinkles," a soft, elegant voice chided him as the tray was set down on his desktop. "You're thinking too much."
"Thinking is what I do best," Verde shot back, eyes roaming slowly over the intruder, not sure whether to be pleased or pissed to see him. "What are you doing here? I thought a free spirit like you wasn't the type to stay in one place?"
"Even wanderers eventually have to choose a home, don't they?" A gentle tilt of the head, a light shrug of the shoulders and that annoyingly calm tone had Verde twitching, much to the other man's amusement. "Would it be so terrible if I chose this one? Some of my dearest friends have settled here, after all."
"Have you finally decided to come clean to that rude brat of Sawada's and settle down for a while, then?" It was a low blow, but Verde was pissed for some reason he couldn't quite figure out and didn't feel like exploring at the moment. "I thought your fear of admitting your past indiscretions would keep you far away from here."
"Have you been forgetting to eat?" That amused, calm look just pissed him off even more, but before he could lash out, he found himself being pressed into the chair behind his desk and forced to eat. "Really, Verde, you're not a child. You should realize by now that not eating regularly makes you temperamental."
"You should realize by now lecturing me will get you nowhere," Verde shot back grumpily as he started to eat, not about to admit that the addition of food to his system very quickly started to improve his mood. It was never a good idea to let Fong think he was right about anything. "Now why are you here? And I don't just mean in Venice, I mean in my lab."
"I was thinking about staying for a while," Fong replied, settling on the edge of Verde's desk and stealing part of his breakfast with a grace that drove Verde insane because he couldn't build anything that moved that elegantly, no matter how hard he tried.
"You really are considering talking to the boy, aren't you?" Verde found his mood improving as curiosity overcame his natural irritability now that that he'd been fed. "You're going to have to eventually, you know. The two of you practically look like twins. The boy isn't stupid, as anti-social and oblivious to the social norms as he is. He's got to have some sort of clue by now."
"Reborn mentioned that he'd expressed some curiosity about the resemblance recently," Fong admitted, nodding slowly and in that annoyingly elegant way that always made Verde twitch slightly in ways he wasn't sure he quite understood, which always frustrated him. "I suppose it might be time to discuss it with him."
"So that's why you're here?" Verde had thought that must be the case, so he was surprised with the answer he received.
"No, that's not why I'm here," Fong smiled at him in that frustrating way that made Verde's hands tighten under the desk slightly to resist the urge to shake him, or something else. Sometimes he just wasn't sure which would give him more pleasure. "I was told that you've been acting strangely, and I came to see for myself."
"I'm not just a prisoner now? I'm an exhibit as well? Is this a zoo, now?" Verde shot him a look full of frustration and restlessness. "I should charge extra for that."
"Young Tsunayoshi can barely afford to keep you happy as it is, Verde," Fong laughed softly, amused at something that Verde simply couldn't discern. "If you keep raising your prices, you'll bankrupt the Vongola."
"Talent should never come cheap," Verde huffed indignantly. "Especially not a mind like mine. I can't just whore myself out to the lowest bidder, you know."
"I've always admired your mind," Fong commented, smiling slowly in a way that left Verde completely confused, something he struggled to hide from the other man. "But there are other things to admire about you as well."
Verde blinked at him, shocked into silence for a long moment. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I hear you've been spending some personal time with young Shouichi and Spanner, Verde," Fong replied, switching subjects in what Verde could only take as an extremely abrupt diversion.
Blinking at him in surprise at the somewhat intrusive and entirely inappropriate statement, Verde frowned. "If you mean am I fucking them, then yes, I have been. Or I was," he corrected himself, "I stopped a while ago."
"It's not like you to give up something that you enjoy, Verde," Fong commented thoughtfully, tilting his head in curiosity. "You're one of the most self-indulgent people I know. Is it because they're so obviously in love with each other? Did you feel as though you were intruding? I wouldn't expect that kind of consideration from you."
"If I was intruding, they wouldn't be inviting me to join them so regularly, now would they?" Verde couldn't understand the purpose of this line of questioning, and found that he was a little stung by the assumption that he could be so blatantly insensitive over his staff. "I've simply lost interest at this point, and there's no logic to wasting my time with something that doesn't entertain me." It sounded harsh, given his fondness for the boys, and Verde winced internally, hoping the boys weren't listening in.
"Even before the curse, you were never one for casual relationships," Fong said thoughtfully. "I remember that you'd say you were more interested in your research than human involvement. I'd always assumed you were the type that needed something more than just the carnal to be happy."
"You think I'm the sort that needs true love to be happy?" Verde asked, scoffing slightly while refusing to meet those irritating, knowing, eyes. "Have you been delving into fortune-telling again? I thought our last round of experiments proved to you how ridiculous the whole idea of fate and predestination is."
"Quite the contrary, my friend," Fong smiled wisely at Verde, which made his fingers twitch again, wanting desperately to do something about the irritated, abraded feeling that smile caused him, but not sure exactly what that something was. "I find these days that I'm less and less sure about what is going to come next."
"Why are you really here, Fong?" Verde stared at him as though if he looked hard enough, he might find the answer. "Did Sawada send you down to make sure I don't slip my leash? Did you want to make sure I'm not losing my mind again? Did Reborn tell you that your presence would be some sort of miraculous intervention and bring me cheerfully to the side of the light and flowers and puppies?"
That last question stung, and he saw the impact in his friend's face as Fong flinched back slightly away from him and Verde instantly regretted it. While he had no problem insulting Sawada, Reborn and a million other people, Fong had always been kind to him, if irritating in his untouchable calm. That in mind, he did something that he almost never did to make up for it.
"I apologize," he muttered grumpily, glaring at Fong. "That was uncalled for." He cursed himself when he saw Fong's face light back up at the apology, wondering why the other's mood was affecting him so much. It was making him nervous and uncertain, two things he almost never experienced.
"You're putting too much thought into why I'm here," Fong told him, continuing to smile that smile that kept twisting Verde up into knots. "I'm here to see you. There's no other reason behind it. I was upstairs and I realized I haven't seen you in too long. I wanted to see you, so I came down to your lab." He paused, as though thinking something through, and then spoke again. "It's good to see you, although I wish you were happier."
Verde froze at that, and stared at Fong blankly. For the life of him, he couldn't remember anyone ever saying anything like that to him. His brain spun but it simply didn't compute. He couldn't break those words down into something that he could understand and work with.
"You're melting his brain," Shouichi said from his workstation across the room, smiling gently at Fong. "If you want him to understand what you're talking about, you need to break it down into logical statements. His brain stalls out when people start talking about feelings and other human things like that."
"I suppose you're right." Fong smiled back at Shouichi warmly, something that made Verde twitch again for a whole different set of reasons he wasn't sure he understood, even as it sharpened his temper again. "Sometimes it's best to be straightforward. Thank you for the reminder."
Shouichi smiled at both of them as he pulled himself up and came over long enough to steal a muffin from Verde's breakfast before heading back into a deeper portion of the lab, taking Spanner with him to give them privacy. Verde watched him go, eyes full of affection without even realizing it. It wasn't until Fong shifted on his desk that he refocused on his visitor.
"So it's true," Fong said softly, his smile fading somewhat, which confused Verde even more. "You do love them. Maybe this lack of interest right now is just a natural cycle for you and your attention is focused elsewhere."
"I'm fond of them," Verde admitted cautiously, feeling like he was on shaky ground for some reason. "But Shouichi and Spanner are very much in love with each other and anyone involved with them would always be somewhat on the outside of that relationship."
It seemed like the light was slowly fading from Fong's face and Verde couldn't wrap his mind around why that would be happening. After all, he'd known the other man for decades and when they'd been in the same place at the same time, Fong had always seemed pleased to see him. He'd almost decided somewhere in his mind that they were friends.
"What's the matter with you?" Verde asked, trying to analyze his friend and discover what the problem here was, not at all pleased to watch him practically deflate right in front of his eyes. "Why do you care so much about those two anyway?"
"I was curious, that's all," Fong said quickly, looking almost nervous now. "I was thinking about settling down for a while, and in trying to find the right place to do that, I suppose I want to know as much as I can about what the people are like there."
"You're lying to me," Verde accused, giving him a look that was a mix of outrage with a tinge of hurt. Fong had never lied to him before. "Whatever it is you want to say, there's no reason to lie about it, you know. Just because I'm not full of frilly emotion doesn't mean I can't understand what someone says."
Fong stared at him quietly for a long moment before sliding off the desk and moving closer. "You're usually more observant than this."
"Reborn is easier to read than you are," Verde replied, feeling grumpy now. His frustration faded to confusion, however, as Fong took another step towards him and invaded his personal space so completely that it had to have been a deliberate choice. "What are you doing?"
"I'm taking a chance," Fong replied, smiling at him again in that same way that left Verde feeling lost and confused, as though there was something just out of his grasp that he knew he should understand. He wasn't left in the dark long, however, because his enigmatic friend leaned forward and pressed their lips together softly.
The soft brush against his lips woke something in Verde that reminded him of the bolts of inspiration that often woke him at night and kept him working for days or weeks on a project that caught his attention. This time, however, instead of a swirl of possibilities that he had to sort through and distill, his entire world narrowed down to focus on one point, where his lips met Fong's. His focus was so intent that when Fong tried to pull back, clearly thinking that Verde wasn't responding to the kiss, Verde lashed out, locking a hand tightly on the front of Fong's shirt, pulling him close.
"Verde…" Fong stared at him with wide eyes as Verde kissed him again, taking the initiative this time.
When Verde approached things that caught his attention, he was relentless about it. It was clear in the way he backed Fong up against the desk again and leaning into him. Then Verde half-bent the other man backwards over it as he kissed him fiercely. He was very quickly figuring out what had been eating at him since Fong had invaded his laboratory and that realization was leading him down paths of deduction that had his head spinning almost as overwhelmingly. It didn't help that the warm body that was pressing so tightly against his own was sending his body into overload.
Pulling back, he looked at Fong intently, taking in the flushed cheeks and rough breathing with a slightly smug sense of accomplishment. "So this is why you're really here. You should have just said so."
"If you're implying that my whole reason for wanting to stay here is hinging on whether you'd return the kiss, your ego is bigger than your brain," Fong replied, looking at him with narrowed eyes, suspicious now. "This is just something I'd been thinking about off and on for a while." Verde could practically feel Fong retreating emotionally now.
"You've been thinking about me, have you?" Verde wasn't about to miss out on the chance to dig into this further, especially now that Fong had his undivided attention. "You should have just said something, Fong. I'm always willing to accommodate special requests from old friends. I can't imagine I'd have said no to the idea of letting you kiss me, as long as you asked nicely."
"You're an asshole," Fong grumbled, frowning at him now and squirming slightly, trying to escape.
"Probably," Verde agreed absentmindedly, his mind straying as Fong's squirming pressed them together more intimately than he'd expected. He found that he liked that squirming quite a bit, and decided to encourage it, tilting his head slightly to graze his teeth along Fong's neck slowly. "I am what I am, after all."
The soft sound Fong made next struck a strange note in Verde's chest, making it hard to breathe all of a sudden. He liked that sound a lot and found that he wanted to hear it again. So he pressed his hips tightly against Fong's, growling slightly when he realized just how sensitive the other man was and just how hard he himself was. With a slight shift of his hips came a brush of hard arousal that made his cock twitch almost violently.
"Verde…" Fong gave him a look that was half temper and half need. "If you're just doing this to play with me, I'll make you regret it."
Verde shut him up efficiently by kissing him again. He was curious, wanting to know if Fong tasted as good as he felt, held so tightly against him. So he kissed him aggressively, taking the initiative fully this time and nipping and licking at his lips until Fong let him in. When their tongues slid together, Verde's brain stopped working completely and he moaned softly into Fong's mouth as he shifted his weight to pin him firmly down onto the desk with his body.
From there, the world around him became fuzzy because he couldn't direct enough of his brain away from the warm, demanding man underneath him to notice much of anything else. He vaguely heard the whir of the lock on his laboratory door as the boys chose to ignore what he and Fong were doing and give them some privacy, but he found he honestly didn't care. What he cared about was working Fong's clothing open, starting with that ridiculously fastened shirt of his.
"If you wanted to get naked with me, Fong, you should have picked something easier to take off of you," Verde commented, mouth moving over his skin as he exposed it. "Or maybe you should have just come naked instead."
He hissed when Fong bit him for that but he had to admit to himself that Fong had picked a damned good spot to bite. As much as it hurt, those teeth clamping down where his shoulder and neck met did something that multiplied his arousal exponentially. Growling softly, he returned the favor and grazed over Fong's skin with his teeth, nipping here and there. His bites were softer, because there was something about the man beneath him that focused and soothed the natural aggression and madness that ate at him constantly, changing it in unexpected ways that he couldn't quantify.
"Stop thinking so much," Fong told him, his breath soft and unsteady. "Sometimes, you just have to simply be, and not wonder about why or how." He gave a sharp tug, and Verde blinked as the buttons flew off his shirt as Fong forcibly helped him out of it. "This should be one of those times. Shut up and feel."
"When did you get so bossy?" Verde asked, but found himself following his friend's advice.
It was painfully easy to let go of the outside world completely and focus on the feel of Fong underneath him as they struggled their way out of their shirts. With fabric out of the way, Verde could feel the silky warm skin under his fingers. Intellectually, he'd known that the level of martial arts skills Fong possessed necessitated muscle, but the feel of them as he traced over Fong's chest made his breath catch slightly. The pleasure of touching him made Verde want to taste as well, and he lowered his head, tracing the same muscles with teeth and tongue. As he grazed over one nipple and then the other, he heard that soft, wicked sound again.
He would have lingered but Fong moved then, hips rocking against his slightly. It distracted him as the friction ripped through his body in a wave of need. Before his brain caught up to his body, his hands were working almost frantically to get Fong out of his pants, wanting even more. Verde realized what he was doing moments after he'd tugged the fabric down and out of his way, leaving Fong naked and sprawled over his desk, flushed and panting. It was a beautiful sight and Verde felt something twinge in his chest.
"If you stayed, would I get to see you like this again?" he asked as he slid his hands along Fong's thighs slowly, making his way upward again.
"I think we could come to an agreement," Fong replied, watching him intently even as he shivered under his hands. "If you wanted that."
"I want you," Verde told him, before leaning in to kiss him again. It was hot and messy this time and so intense that Verde almost missed the way Fong's clever fingers were working his pants open and pushing them down. He caught on quickly however when a calloused hand wrapped around his cock and stroked him slowly.
"Oh fuck," Verde's vocabulary abandoned him as his brain melted more and more with each shift of Fong's hand and he found himself leaning into the desk for support, bracing himself over Fong's body.
"I think I'm going to make you buy me dinner before we get that far," Fong told him as he leaned up slightly to nuzzle along Verde's neck, making him shudder slightly at the mix of sensations. "I'm demanding, you know."
At any other time, Verde would have pointed out that he was a prisoner here and that the chances of that were small. Now, however, all he could think about was touching Fong, so he murmured his agreement against Fong's jaw and slid a hand down to stroke him in the same wicked rhythm that was driving him insane. When Fong whimpered into his neck Verde lost himself completely, focused entirely on the growing heat and need that was slowly driving him insane.
Time lost all meaning from that point forward, becoming a swirling mix of harsh breathing, rough hands, slick skin and desire. It wasn't until Fong tensed under him and cried out as he spilled over Verde's hand that reality snapped back into focus. His eyes locked with Fong's and what he saw in them overwhelmed him, causing that same tightness in his chest even as his body began to tremble with pleasure. He forced himself to maintain that connection between them even as he peaked, hips jerking with each hot wave that coursed through him.
There was no time to spare, he realized, in any sort of post-orgasmic slump. Fong was trembling under him and the look in those dark eyes had shifted into a nervous uncertainty. Finding that intolerable in ways he was certain he'd never be able to express verbally, Verde slid his arms around Fong, lifting him slightly so that as he slumped back into his chair he was able to settle him in his lap, holding him close. His hand slid along Fong's spine slowly, petting him in gentle reassurance.
"It might be a while before they'd let me take you out to dinner," he said thoughtfully. "But it would be nice if you'd stay and have dinner here with me tonight. Tomorrow night, and the night after, too."
Relaxation slowly spread through Fong's body, and Verde's chest seemed to loosen slightly with every muscle that released. He had to admit to himself that he liked it when Fong nuzzled into his neck, practically purring with pleasure. That was the reason, he told himself, that he slid his other hand into Fong's hair, stroking it gently. There was something about this situation that soothed the irritation that had been swelling up in him for days, possibly weeks now, and he acknowledged that he approved of it, because the warm, gentle man in his arms felt good to him.
"Dinner in sounds nice," Fong murmured against Verde's neck, dropping a soft kiss on his skin. "You can show me your home. I'd like to see it."
Verde almost protested that this wasn't his home, just his prison. But there was something about the situation that shed light on a few things and he was slowly realizing that maybe over the past years he'd lost that battle. The thought of showing his apartment that he'd worked so diligently to match to his specifications pleased him all of a sudden, giving him a sense of pride and ownership he hadn't experienced before. That brought to light the idea that maybe he needed to reconsider his concepts of freedom and home, because he liked the idea of opening that space to Fong and letting him explore.
"It's nothing special," he said out loud, trying to sound nonchalant. "But it suits me."
*Title translates to "From possibility to actuality".