summerschild (summerschild) wrote in odysseyic, @ 2018-04-29 10:30:00 |
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Entry tags: | dustin, ivanya, theo |
find your center
Who: Dustin / Theo / Iv
Where: Theo's room
It had been ages since Theo was this tired. He’d taken the front running role on dealing with the refugees, spending more time than he would have liked learning a few different snippets of different languages, finding places for them. A few would stay on, others, they were getting off at the next stop.
The boat crew had been difficult, but it took pushing for them to be polite. To be accomodating. It was tiring work as well. When he finally made it back to his room, he tugged at his boots, leaving them scattered across the hallway into his apartment, then dropped down into a chair, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt, tired of being so well dressed so someone would treat him like the Vice President’s son. Like the mouthpiece he was.
He closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the back of the armchair, letting out a long sigh.
Dustin wasn’t far behind Theo, coming in a few minutes later from his completed shift. He too was busy dealing with refugees, getting background checks done - if possible - getting people settled, ensuring that high tensions didn’t wind up encouraging stupid behavior. Some of the snotty uber rich didn’t want to share their space with the unwashed masses, and he did his best to be civil while telling them to shove it up their asses. Or wanting to. Mostly he just had to ensure people that their lives would return to normal shortly, and he had to tell the refugees that if they wanted to wander around on the ship they shouldn’t do it alone.
He walked in, feeling like he should probably attempt to spend more time down in his own quarters, but he simply didn’t want to. He wanted to be here, with them. “You look exhausted,” he said when he came around the corner and spotted Theo. “...and very sharp,” he added, because Theo could very much wear a suit.
Theo grinned without opening his eyes. There was just something about knowing that Dustin came to his place after his shifts that made Theo feel warm all over. Plus, well, compliments were always appreciated. He cracked one eye open, then tilted his head for Dustin to come join him. Things were getting better, but honestly, that was the other reason why Theo was so exhausted. His boy and his girl weren’t quite back up to par yet and he was spending every spare ounce of energy, brain cell, and whatever else to treat them like they deserved. So yeah, he was tired, but it was the good kind of bone deep ache of a job well done that was only topped by one other kind of tired. “I can be awake for you.”
The door fell shut hard behind her as Ivanya whirlwinded into their room. She was a woman on a mission and it took her all of two seconds to see the two of them there. Silently, she quick-stepped her way to Theo, climbed onto his lap, and grabbed his face to pull him into a deep, breathless kiss.
Dustin jumped ever so slightly at the slam of the door, body tensing up automatically – but then he saw Iv, and relaxed again. Not completely, he was still in the process of convincing himself he shouldn't be on constant high alert, but still. He smiled, especially when he saw her climb up on Theo and kiss him. That was a good sign. Iv had gone through something hard, and he hadn't known how long it would be before she'd regain herself but that looked a whole lot like the Iv he knew and loved. He crouched and tugged at the laces of his boots to kick them off, hanging back but liking the show.
Theo spotted the way Dustin flinched and he almost said something to reassure him, but then had a lap and a mouthful of Iv. He kissed her back until he had to breathe, leaning back and grinning at her. “Well. Hello to you too.” He settled his hands against her lower back, looking at her then over at Dustin with a smirk. “Alright, alright, I’m awake.”
Iv was beaming, tears in her eyes as she looked down at Theo. She wanted to kiss him again, to stop all their talking and drag them both to bed, but maybe she should share some context first. She knew this was a complete turn from how she'd been feeling lately. “Papa says hi. To you both” she said, looking over at Dustin.
Dustin smiled. “You got through to him,” he said, sounding relieved. He’d known she needed to do that, and it looked to him like it had done the trick. “Well, thank your knight in shining armor,” he said, gesturing to Theo. He wouldn’t have been able to pull the strings to get that done. He would have got the runaround if he’d been able to even start talking to the right people, and he seriously doubted he’d have been able to do that. No, this was all Theo.
“Glad it worked out,” Theo said, drawing her closer to him, and a little off to the side so he could see Dustin too. “I’m hardly that, but I’m willing to accept all spoils of the joust. Especially if they come with both of you in a lot less clothing?” He arched a brow at Dustin, knowing that was the real question. Iv felt more like herself, sounded more like herself, and it was really dependent on how Dustin was feeling.
She was finally feeling like a complete person again and the cherry on top of that amazing sundae would be Theo and Dustin in bed with her, but she also remembered what Dustin had told her. That not everyone healed the same way, that pushing too far too fast might not be a good idea. So she shifted with Theo, curled up against his side with her fingers in his hair as she looked over at Dustin. “If I could spend the rest of the day taking care of the two of you, I’d be a very happy girl,” She said, hoping that because she’d kept the request focused on her and vague enough, that Dustin might want to join them in some capacity.
His automatic reaction was to sit out. He felt it, that part of him that had shut down still behaving like that was the correct response. He understood that it wasn't. That they weren't in a war, this wasn't an unsafe place, that getting back to normal with Theo and Iv would be good for him, it was just difficult to get there. Both because he had those instincts to shut down and because he'd seen them together during it all and they'd stuck together very well. Which was great to see but put into perspective for him that he wasn't exactly necessary in the equation. He knew Theo had talked to him about things, and he'd felt a little better here and there. It just wasn't quite gone yet. It was a fight against his knee jerk reaction to say what he did. “...what does 'taking care' entail?”
“Means whatever you need it to, big guy,” Theo said, sure that Ivanya would agree with him. There was no way she didn’t catch that hesitation like he did, the way Dustin seemed to check himself before committing to response. He wasn’t about to leave Dustin feeling like he had to do something he didn’t want. Not now. Not when it was finally starting to get better. “Even if that’s just pjs, ordering room service, and a classic horror film movie marathon. Whatever you need.” He brushed his hand through Ivanya’s hair and kissed her cheek. “Same goes for you. I’m here for both of you.”
Iv leaned into Theo's hand for a moment before untangling herself from him to go over to Dustin. She wrapped her arms around his middle and pulled him closer to her, catching his eyes. “If it's horror movies, you know I'm going to need both of you there to hold me. Or it can be rom-coms and I can paint your nails,” she teased gently.
His arms slid around her after a second, and he looked between the two of them and felt a warmth flood through him. They were both being so patient. He looked at Theo, then down to Iv's eyes. “I think holding you through horror movies sounds good,” he said. And maybe while they were at that, other things could happen. He wasn't quite sure yet, but 'netflix and chill' seemed like a good plan. Easing him into things would be good, and he liked the idea of them snuggling up together, someplace warm, tangled up with each other. Feeling like he was a real part of their relationship instead of just on the outside looking in.
Theo got that. He could see what was needed in Dustin’s eyes. He smiled, getting up and pressing a kiss to the top of Iv’s head before leaning up to kiss Dustin’s mouth. “I’m gonna change and set up the tv,” he said, nodding towards his room. “Can I leave you two with getting food and bringing drinks?” He assumed as much, but also thought they could use some time. He smirked at both of them, then headed into his room.
“We can do that,” She assured Theo, giving him a smile as he walked away. Then, when it was just the two of them, Ivanya went to readjust her arms around his middle and press her head to his chest. “Can I do anything for you?” She asked, thinking that asking if he was all right wasn’t the right move. She didn’t want to put extra pressure on the situation if he wasn’t ready to talk about how he felt.
Dustin returned the kiss Theo gave him, then watched him wander off before he focused on Iv in his arms. He rested his cheek against the top of her head. “Seeing you happy is doing a whole lot,” he murmured. “It was lonely without you.” Though he knew they likely felt the same way about him. That he hadn’t been there, and maybe still wasn’t quite yet. But he was getting there, in whatever way he could.
“I’m happy to be back. It was lonely in here,” She said, reaching up to poke at her forehead before she wrapped her arms around his back again. For a long moment, she just stood there and breathed in his scent. Then, as she dragged her nails gently down Dustin’s back, she pulled away just enough to look up at his eyes. “Should we go get comfy?”
He made a soft little humm at the feel of her nails. He always did like that. Then he nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I’ll grab the food and drinks if you want,” he said. Since technically that was what they were meant to be doing. Which he was thinking ordering a pizza sounded fine and there was probably wine or something to drink. He wouldn’t mind getting a little buzz on.
“Sure,” She said, leaning up to kiss his cheek again, squeeze his arm one more time, and then slip away into the bedroom. Or at least, she started to. She ended up doubling back and grabbing a pint of ice cream from the freezer with a grin before actually heading into the bedroom. “Dustin’s on his way,” She told Theo as soon as she crossed the threshold.
Theo had taken his time, slipping out of the suit jacket, but was still in the dress pants and shirt when Iv came into the room. He’d adjusted the tv on the wall, loading up the screen so they could pick a movie and kicked his shoes into a corner. He looked up at her, smirking at the ice cream, then nodded. “He okay?”
Iv went straight for the bed, curling her legs up underneath herself as she got settled. “He’s okay,” She said, knowing Theo would know by the tone of her voice that she meant ‘as okay as he can be’. “You’re okay?” She asked, needing to know that too before they all settled down and engaged in some serious self-care.
Theo heard it, and nodded, moving to sit with her mostly laying flat on his back. “I’m good. I mean...I’ll be better.” That he’d be better when he had the two of them back went without saying. “But I’m good.”
Dustin shot out an order for pizza, then grabbed a bottle of wine and a few other odds and ends. He grabbed a beer for himself, got some snacks and put them on a tray to bring into the bedroom. He smiled at the two of them. This was exactly where he wanted to be right now. And he was still thinking that Theo looked good all shined up like that, even without the whole ensemble on. And Iv, well, she could be wearing a burlap sack and still look gorgeous. He set the tray on the bedside table, then moved onto the bed, for once not paying too much attention to what everyone else wanted and he put himself in the middle, where he wanted to be right now. “Pizza’s coming,” he told them as he stretched and groaned a little as some of his joints cracked.
Setting the ice cream aside, Iv shifted a little just until Dustin settled between them, then snuggled up to Dustin's side. She gave Theo a smile, wrapped Dustin up in a hug, and found Theo's hands on the other side. “That's the last task you do for tonight,” she told him. “We can handle the rest, right?” She asked,eyes flicking back to Theo.
Theo let Dustin and Iv get settled, focusing on opening Dustin’s beer for him and handing it over. Then Iv grabbed his hand and he smiled back at her. “Of course. Whatever you need.” He ran a hand through Dustin’s hair before pulling his feet up under him and opening the bottle of wine for him and Iv. “And you get to pick the movie,” he added, handing the remote over to Dustin as well.
Dustin’s idea of what he wanted wasn’t difficult to work out. “I want you two, right here with me,” he told them. He was feeling comfortable, took the beer from Theo and took a drink, before he put his other arm around him. His other snuggled up to Iv. He exhaled, pretty content. “The Thing? The Frighteners? The Frighteners is more comedy-horror, but still.”
“The Thing? What you want her to have nightmares?” Theo laughed, half-heartedly reaching for the remote. “Frighteners or Evil Dead II or something,” he said. “We want to laugh. Not be scared witless. Plus, we just got out of the snow. Let’s not set ourselves up to wonder if we brought anything back with us.” He winked at Dustin, then rested his head on his shoulder, fingers trailing down Dustin’s arm to link their fingers.
Dustin smiled. “Army of Darkness, then,” he said. Which was the silliest of them all. Plus he did enjoy it. Who didn’t want to see Bruce Campbell fight deadites? He was happy to hold Theo’s hand, and took another second to shut his eyes and feel their warmth. He drew in a deep breath, catching the scent of them both too. “I know sometimes I’m difficult,” he said quietly. “But I hope you know I love you both more than anything.”
She was thankful for Theo helping decide the movie because,honestly, Iv just didn't know what she was getting herself into there. But she liked happy, relaxed Dustin and happy, relaxed Theo so she didn't care what they watched. She took a moment to beam at Theo over Dustin before turning so they she ended up as the little spoon, so she could watch the screen. “Not as much as we love you.”
Theo shifted so he could pour himself and Iv wine, but not move too far from Dustin’s side. “You’re not difficult,” he said softly as he handed Iv her glass over Dustin. He kissed the spot just below Dustin’s ear. “I’m difficult. You’ve just been having a rough couple of days. That doesn’t change anything.” He smiled, pressing in close to Dustin. “And she’s right. We’re both stupid in love with you.”
Dustin took a big drink of his beer then set it on the nightstand, because he wanted his hands and arms free to snuggle with. When Iv shifted, Dustin did too, and he reached for Theo’s hand to pull around him. He definitely wasn’t used to being a middle spoon, but right here and now he wanted that. “Good. Because I don’t know what I’d do without the both of you.” He meant that. “Christ, I’m glad I’m here right now.”
Iv took a sip of her wine but let it settle beside Dustin’s beer on the nightstand because nothing was more important than the three of them right now. She pressed her head right back into Dustin’s chest and smiled. “I think we all are. But you guys are ruining the movie,” She teased, beaming them both a grin over her shoulder. For now, all she wanted was this giant love cuddle pile on the bed. Nothing in the world mattered more.