nehraachargers | Duplicity IC Inbox

25-B. Got it.

[He offers him an easy smile and tips his cup before having another swallow of wine. See? Everything is fine.]

[Cyril drinks more wine, slowly releasing more of the tension from his body as he does. ]

Tell me what it's been like for you so far...

Could have been worse. Those charms were shit to deal with. I had this itch to just make sure everyone screwed me over rather than others. Least it's not the first time I've had to deal with following orders I hate.

[He sighs a bit.]

There's some good people here though. I hate seeing them here.

There are. So many good people. People you want to help, but there's nothing we can do to stop those in power. They have complete and utter control of our lives now.

[And that has always been Cyril's greatest fear. Not being able to control the course of his life, learning that indeed he never could, it was gnawing away at him like termites at a foundation of a house. A house that was never fully sturdy in the first place.]

It's true that it's only going to get worse. I've been held in public stocks for public use, watched people be executed, woken up locked in rooms with the only way to escape fucking someone, or being fucked by them, had all the details of my life plastered on the network for all to read, been trapped in a dark muck that I've had to crawl out of while I could hear the sounds of people I loved drowning...

That's why I wasn't sure you were real before. I've heard your voice here before. But you weren't real.

[Did he just say Bull is someone he loves? Because by that logic he totally did.]

Whenever someone is real, they don't know me. And I don't know how to pretend like that doesn't hurt.

I... I don't know how to pretend anymore. [Fuck, he is not going to cry again. Once was enough to last him another 20 years. He rubs at his eyes.]

[Sure he's known it can get bad here but it's one thing to know and another to hear just how bad. Bull frowns and then finishes off his wine before making sure they both have more. They both fucking need it.]

Then don't. If you're hurting or you're not alright then don't pretend with me. I'm not going to fault you for feeling like crap.

[He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees.]

You've never had to with me and that's not gonna change now.

[He wants to ask about that love thing but he just doesn't have it in him to do it. Because it can mean...so much when it's applied to the word "people" and he knows that.

Cyril needs support. Not someone stressing him out by bringing up things like that.]

I'm supposed to be stronger than this, Bull.

That's never something you've had to be when you're with me, boss. You don't have to strong. You don't have to impress. You don't have to put on a smile to hide.

[He looks right at him as he speaks.]

Here in this space with just you and I? You don't have to be any of that.

[He is crying again now. He sniffs and wipes at the tears in a frustrated way. He doesn't want to be like this right now, but somehow Bull offering to give him a place to be hurt makes all of the weight he's been carrying around come crashing down.]

I don't want to go home because I want to spend the night with you. Can I?

[He isn't clear that he means just talking or drinking or if he wants something more.]

[Bull is quiet for a moment then gets up.]

Let me go call Fenris and give him the heads up. I'll be right back then we can bring the wine to my room. Get pissed and pass out.

[Pulling his device from his pocket, he heads up the stairs for a couple minutes to make that call. Just so Fenris knows that he's got the Inquisitor here. His Inquisitor. And that he's a mess and needs to spend the night.]

[Cyril breathes a sigh of relief at that. He contacts Linn while Bull is gone to make sure his own sub knows where he is - and warns him about the injury in his hand - but by the time that Bull is back he's finishing up his glass of wine.]

[Coming back down when the call is done, he grabs a couple more bottles and his glass then nods to the stairs.]

Come on up, boss. Might as well get comfortable, right?

[Cyril follows him easily, glancing around to take in more of Bull's house.]

Does Fenris mind me staying?

He doesn't mind. You'll probably get to meet him in the morning for breakfast.

[He'll have to make sure to take the collar off him then too. But that's a matter for the future.

Holding the door open to his room, he gives a smile and lets him in before setting up the wine by the table next to the bed. There he flops down onto it with a sigh and has another swig of the wine.]

Make yourself comfortable. I made sure I had a damn good bed.

[Cyril chuckles, because somehow being in a room with a big bed with Bull is comforting, even with all of the mess attached to their history.]

I'm sure. You do need to make sure it's sturdy. Imagine if it fell apart mid... uh... nap.[He says it with a soft smile and a bit of a playful tone, but it's still more muted than he would have used back home.]

Knew you'd understand.

[Bull can't help but chuckle a little too, patting the spot next to him on the bed. Once Cyril is next to him, he lifts his glass.]

To being reunited with friends, even if the circumstances are shit.

To friends. [Cyril replies and returns the toast.

His voice is still a little hollow.

After a drink, he leans against Bull and sighs.]

[Wrapping his arm around him, he tugs him close to hold him there. Quiet falls over them while they drink but he doesn't mind that. Sometimes the silence is nice too.

Especially when it means he can help someone important to him feel like they have him there with them.]

[Cyril drinks a lot. Probably more than he should. It ends with him passed out against Bull.

Once he's out, he stays out until morning, though he sleeps much more soundly when Bull is near.]

[Bull stays where he is despite having woken up first. He's fine just sitting here with Cyril sleeping against him. It looks like the guy needs the rest after the crap he's been through.

Doesn't stop him from being aware of when Fenris passes by the open door to his room. He gives him a smile and nods at him. Right before waving for him to come over so he can get his collar off.]

[ That was... interesting.

The company that Bull had mentioned was still here, that was not necessarily unusual but Bull was motioning to him as if he wanted to continue their tradition as if the stranger was not there.

Fenris, however, considered the act of removing his collar a bit too intimate for that, so when he approached he shook his head the moment Bull raised a hand. 'Not yet,' his green eyes said without speaking, then the gaze settled on the one sleeping against him.

Should he speak? He was not sure if he should wake him up. Even so, he leaned in to press a gentle kiss at the corner of Bull's lips in greeting. Something just for him before he whispered by his ear. ]

A Dalish?

[When Fenris enters Cyril starts to wake up, as the presence of someone else is usually enough to spring him to action. However, Bull is still there and lulls his mind into a sense of safety. Rather than waking fully he lingers in a space between sleep and consciousness.]

[Bull gives him a kiss back but lowers his hand. He understands without Fenris needing to say anything. Looking to Cyril, he sees he's asleep but only partially. That's alright.]

Yeah. And the Inquisitor in my time.

Oh.

[ He had heard enough stories to know this was someone very important Bull-- the world, even. ]

I would like to meet him, when he wakes.

[Cyril stirs a bit then, groaning softly as his mind wakes. He's still a little affected by the wine so he mumbles softly before he can fully open his eyes.]

Looks like he's waking up now.

[Bull looks over to the Elf at his side and fixes his hair a bit.]

Hey, boss.

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