Joaco and Eli reflect WHO: Joaco and Eli WHEN: 24 December WHERE: /The/ Party SUMMARY: Joaco had a lot happen to him CW: Minor flirting but pretty vanilla
Eli was tired. Not only did he have the play, he got dragged to a telenovela of a Christmas Party and then he transformed to his other form. And he also worried himself sick that Joaco would be hurt. Part of him wanted to be able to overdramatically protect the other man but this clearly wasn’t his night. No, it was Faihan’s and Alejandro’s. And Eli pushed his theater kid energy down and trusted his friend.
He pushed aside all that bitterness he had for Alejandro and just let himself feel happy for the couple. He envied Faihan for having a power to heal. All he could do is make things burn.
But catastrophe averted. He dropped the Kyo part of himself. And the exhaustion collapsed in his being.
At the urge to be left alone, he looked to Joaco. His heart skipped a beat. He didn’t deny being Gaius but he didn’t confirm it either. Did it matter?
He gently grabbed Joaco’s arm to go back inside.
"Are you okay?" Joaco moved his arm to wrap around Eli's waist to support him. It was always his instinct to be the one who provides no matter what the situation was and this was no exception. "Have you seen Andrés?" He lost sight of him after they got displaced into that pocket of light magic, but the last time they spoke he seemed to be unharmed.
"Maybe we should get you a snack."
Eli felt a warm, cozy feeling as Joaco’s arm wrapped around his waist. It did ease a bit of the dizziness he felt. He wanted to let Joaco take care of him and give him snacks.
But the mention of Andres caused him to stiffen a little bit. Why is Joaco so focused on taking care of everyone else but him? A lot happened tonight. Joaco saw his half-brother turn into a lion because of the rage of this whole family drama.
How did Joaco feel about this? Because Eli didn’t know. He also didn’t know how Joaco felt about the two of them in a past life having a romantic history.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since whatever the fuck happened outside,” Eli admitted. “I think I just need some place to sit down for a second. Maybe a snack but to sit down.” He rubbed his head. “I mean… what about you? Don’t you need a snack and a quiet place to process?”
"I suppose he might be checking on my mamí or something…" Joaco trailed off, surveiling the mansion's grounds until he spotted a large couch, and so, he led Eli towards it with careful steps. "You don't have to worry about me," He offered a warm smile and a squeeze to Eli's side as they reached their destination.
Eli gave a small, soft smile to Joaco, “Someone should worry about you.” He left the fact that he could be one of those people as the unspoken bit. Joaco simply laughed at those words, shaking his head. “I’m sure he’s okay…” Eli thought he had an opening to talk about Joaco and his newly found father. But then Joaco spoke up.
"I did ruin my new suit, but I know how to sew, but also that's probably not easily fixable, huh?" Joaco wondered if his shirt had any blood stains, those were really annoying to get rid of. "Do you want me to go get you a drink and a snack? You can wait here and I'll be back in a second."
“You could use it as an excuse to restyle it so it has a bit more flare,” Eli suggested. “You’re a theater kid now.” As he sat down, he propped his arm up and leaned his head against his hand, giving Joaco a look. He sighed, “Very well, I’ll let you take care of me for now.”
He wouldn’t deny Joaco that.
"Be right back, theater kid," Joaco simply winked at Eli, briefly showing him Eli's good luck charm that was right in his pocket before getting up and walking away. It took him longer than he'd like to, having to field some attention from the staff that were now treating him like the owner's kid.. Which was entirely bizarre because he knew some of them from before. He returned with a tray after practically having to snstch it away from one of the servers, smiling at Eli when he found him still sitting.
Eli waited for Joaco to return, feeling a slight dizziness from the day’s events. He should go home. He should find his parents and go home or uber home. But he did not want to abandon Joaco. He figured while Joaco’s mother would no doubt want to listen to him, there definitely were nuances he could not address. And Eli knew Joaco would spend the entire time making sure she was okay.
"Here we go," he put the tray on his lap before handing the very non-alcoholic beverage he got to Eli. There were some snacks or the closest he could get to them in such a fancy party. "Whenever you feel like home I can--wait, your parents are here, right?"
The de ja vu hit Eli pretty hard. He pictured Gaius feeding him as Kyo. That small act of caring melted Kyo’s cynical heart. And now, Eli felt fuzzy at the thought of it. He took a sip of the juice provided and grabbed a pastry, “Yeah, my parents are around here somewhere.”
He munched a little. “Thank you. This is helping a lot.” He licked his lips. “Man, a lot happened tonight. How are you holding up and if you say you’re fine, I’m gonna call you a liar.” He gave Joaco a wink and stuck out his tongue.
"But I'm really fine!" Joaco protested, taking a bite of another pastry, needing some food himself. "It was just a scratch and Fee Fee got it. Plus I'm sturdier than I look like." He tapped his fist against his chest before giving the other man a thumbs up. ]
“I know physically, you’re fine,” Eli agreed as he reached out to lightly rub Joaco’s shoulders. “In more ways than one.” He wriggled his eyebrows playfully before turning serious, “Faihan’s beautiful song did wonders for that.” He wished it had been him. But whatever. Faihan looked so cool doing it.
"Are you flirting with me?" Joaco laughed, wagging his eyebrows right back at Eli. Eli shrugged cryptically at that question.
“I mean…” Eli sighed. “The reveal. The fact that Alejandro took his anger out on you. What about that?”
He shook his head, “I swear. This selflessness. It is the same in both lifetimes.”
"I understand his anger, it makes sense. It's only fair from his point of view, so I'm not going to hold it against him or anything." Joaco took a final bite into his pastry before glancing over at Eli from the corner of his eye.
“Yeah, I get why he’s angry. I think he misdirected his anger. It is not your fault after all,” Eli added with a shrug.
"Whose selflessness?" He wiped his lips with a napkin, blinking a few times. "I'm just me… and like I said, fair is fair."
Eli lidded his eyes, “I mean, should we continue talking around it?”
"Around the fact you're flirting with me?" Joaco laughed and gave Eli a playful wink. "I don't mind it."
Eli groaned and let himself fall back against the back of the couch, whining a little bit. He did not feel like pushing the Gaius stuff more. Not tonight. Too much energy. “Yes, but I thought we’ve already established the dance of flirtations here. Anyway…”
He knew Joaco was deflecting and may not get anymore out of him tonight. He reached out to run his thumb over Joaco’s cheek, “If you want to rant or anything… my ears are yours.”
"I appreciate that," Joaco's tone and smile was sincere, reaching over to cup Eli's cheek. "I really do, it's just… I'm used to dealing with things on my own. It has nothing to do with not trusting you, okay?" Perhaps that was more than what he had to admit, but Eli was being too earnest and it made him feel bad to just brush him off.
Eli leans into Joaco’s hand like he were a cat, mostly subconsciously. He let his own hand fall. Used to dealing with things on his own. That made Eli want to hug him. He didn’t know what that would be like. He always had his parents to support him.
He nodded as Joaco said his way had nothing to do with trusting him or not, “Alright. I…” Eli pulled away and broke apart the pastry on the plate, “I wanted to protect you tonight. And other nights.” It must be heavy to carry everything on your own, Eli thought and almost said but did not. But he said that as a way to imply it. That Joaco was not alone and he did not have to carry everything. Am I turning into Kyo? he wondered.
Joaco smiled at Eli's words, but he chose not to say anything, simply leaning back and moving his hand away.
“Anyway, the play is done. Do you think you’ll do another?” Eli couldn’t stay in the serious realm for long, especially when it involved his own heavy feelings.
"Maybe, would you want me to join you trying out for stuff? It was fun. Hard, but fun." Especially the time commitment… but he always managed to balance his packed schedule.
“Absolutely, I’d want you to. That is, if the world is still here and not destroyed from being from another dimension,” Eli joked with a smile. “Or I haven’t been sucked into the other dimension, physically or mentally.”
"Are you planning to destroy the world?" Joaco tipped his head in curiosity, arching his eyebrow.
Eli blinked a couple times, “I mean, the world can be a cruddy place. But no. I’ll save it. From whatever it is. Whatever it is has been quiet.”
"Ah, right, I guess I should return your good luck charm." Joaco smiled sheepishly as he reached into his pocket.
At the mention of his good luck charm, Eli looked over, “Well, maybe hold onto it for a while, especially if you’re going to try-out again.” He playfully stuck out his tongue in response, his eyes crinkled with a smile.
"Alright, if you're sure. I know how much it means to you. I can tell it's very important." Joaco touched the pocket where he kept the item, but he didn't take it out. "Anyway, I should probably… go find mamí. She's probably overwhelmed by all the glitz and gossip."
“Yeah, I trust you will take good care of it,” Eli nodded and gave Joaco a small poke. “Also, I want people to gossip who E is.” He gave Joaco a wink. He sighed though as Joaco said he had to leave, “Yes, I think you must. And I probably should find my parents. Thanks for taking care of me.”
He gave Joaco’s sleeve a light tug, “Hey, take care of your mother. But also take care of yourself.” His light eyes turned serious.
"You don't have to worry about me," Joaco said with a smile, looping back to the start of their conversation before he got up and waved at Eli, and then, walked off, stealing one last glance at the other man before disappearing down a large hallway.