victory_road | Fifty Shades of Lavender [Closed]

Fifty Shades of Lavender [Closed]

Who: Shiro and Dorian
Where: Lavender Town
When: Forward-tagged to February 14th
Summary: Dorian makes good on his promises
Rating: C for Cringe (and warnings for Dorian's salacious come-ons)
Log:

[If Shiro thought the radio silence on Dorian's part was an indication of his diminished intent, the pilot had another thing coming. While it was true that the mage had been avoiding contact with his intended for some time, it was certainly not for lack of interest. After their last conversation, and after plucking up his new swablu, Dorian had set out on his journey.]

[Shiro had mentioned being held back by commitments in Lavender, so Dorian would simply have to come to him.]

[It was not an easy trek, and by the end of it, he didn't feel particularly ready to meet his dashing new crush. Rather, he booked himself a room at the inn and settled himself into a shower that lasted longer than he cared to admit.]

[When he finally clambered out, finally dressed and prepped for the occasion, it was getting on in the day. He sauntered back to the Pokemon center, Viridis slithering along beside him. The Nurse on duty was his nearest target, and he all but coiled himself atop the counter as he spoke to her.]

Tell me, darling, have you seen a man name Shiro about. Dashing fellow, albeit with a bit of a... constipated look, I suppose might be appropriate.

[He batted his eyelashes and waited, either for her answer, a disgusted rejection, or perhaps something else entirely.]

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[Shiro might not notice, but Kuro the Lairon does. Narrowing his eyes with an irritated little huff. Come on, man, it's not like he used Attract on you, here. But once his trainer comes back around, Kuro hunkers down. Feet tucked up under him like a cat.]

He's good to go. Are you?

[Here he is, totally unaware anything went awry.]

[The huff draws a small chuckle from Dorian, and as Shiro turned back, the mage turned to the creature. He winked at the thing, turning his charm up to eleven. It was a shame he wasn't as easily won over as Commander Floppington had been.]

[But those were thoughts for another time. He stood on Shiro's approach and nodded. He thought about sticking his arm out, offering as a man might to his woman, but thought better of it. He'd seen the fire in Shiro's cheeks before -- physical contact might well make him combust.]

[Another thing to come later.]

I was, as they say, born ready. Lead the way?

[Honestly, a physical cue might actually clue him in a little more. But as it stands now, he thinks it's just a friendly meeting. A very friendly meeting, but still. Kuro is clearly aware of what's going on. Just not a big fan.]

[Nevertheless, he heaves himself to his feet to follow his trainer.]

Born ready? I'll keep that in mind. [He actually laughs a bit, nodding toward the doors.] It's this way.

Unless you had something else in mind before we go?

[It isn't like Dorian to keep his hands to himself. With time, and perhaps a little more distance from the Lairon, and he might make a move. For now though, his arms remained behind his back, and each step he took furthering his saunter. His showy sort of stride paused only long enough for him to rush ahead, holding the door open like a proper gentleman.]

The only thing on my mind is you. [He spoke this as Shiro passed, grin on his lips once more. He made sure to keep the door open for the Lairon, and eventually Viridis, who looked none too happy to be moving again.]

[Truly, it was a wonder he hadn't attempted to start a shit-talking dialogue with Kuro. Perhaps it was only because the only thing he hated more than Dorian was anything other than Dorian.]

[Again, he was proud of the creature more than anything.]

[Kuro is just protective. Like Haunter, except Haunter has a lot more ... personable traits than a big steel dinosaur. Haunter would probably get along with Dorian immediately. But the big guy does pause to nudge Viridis ahead of him. Look, see, he can be a gentleman too.]

Hey, I thought you wanted to know about space.

[But he's still smiling. Amused with all of this. He'll pause a few paces out, waiting for everyone to catch up.]

Or did you want to save that for food?

[Being protective isn't a concept he's all that familiar with. Being the solitary lifestyle type, and considering how things ended with those who would have protected him wound up being right arseholes... it was a difficult idea to wrap his head around. Even the idea of Pokemon being protective creatures was odd to him. Viridis never seemed like he wanted much to do with Dorian. He wasn't convinced that he might get pushed off of the nearest cliff, should he give the Serperior a chance.]

[Speaking of The Green, the snake merely gave the Lairon a look, before slithering on ahead. At the very least, the creature managed to withhold its eye roll until after its gaze was out of the metal creature's sight.]

[At least it had some manners.]

[Once everyone was in order and out of the blighted door, Dorian strutted forward, again losing some of his elegance with the speed of his walk. Upon reaching Shiro's side, his arm slid out hand briefly brushing over the small of the other man's back as he urged him onward.]

Space is vast, is it not? I'm sure the conversation could keep us satisfied for a long time. Don't you?

It's not just vast. It's... literally endless. There's more out there than we could ever know...

[Whoops, he's already off and talking. Pausing only long enough to be sure Kuro is back at his heels before he keeps on walking. And talking.]

[It's still a subject close to his heart. Even after it turned out to be a lot more dark and dangerous than any of them ever expected it to be. It also ended up being more amazing. Like the Balmera. Like the Lions. Like--]

[That's a hand on his back.]

[He has to admit it surprises him. A little prickle of electricity down his spine, before he picks up his pace a bit, thinking he was going too slow.]

We thought for the longest time we were the only advanced life forms, right? Turns out, we couldn't be more wrong.

[Dorian thought he might have been more annoyed at Shiro speeding off. Certainly he was disappointed, having enjoyed the warmth against his fingers, but annoyance was the furthest thing from his mind. He wasn't sure if it was the subject at hand or simply the sound of his companion's voice, but either way, he was enamored.]

[Certainly he wanted to reach back out, to try again. But if Shiro preferred to not touch, then that would be fine by him. This whole blighted attempt at courting had been about taking it slow. By now the mage was simply used to it.]

It doesn't surprise me, that you were wrong in making that assumption. [Knowing nothing compared to Shiro had shaken his perspective. Dorian had once been arrogant enough to think of himself as one of the smarter people in existence. Certainly not the smartest, but as one of the men responsible for the application of time based magic (however badly it had ended), he was up there. Arriving in Johto, and later, his conversations with Shiro, had proven that existence was a vast sort of thing. If he wasn't the smartest, then surely Shiro wasn't either.]

[It had to be infinite.]

No matter, though. What did you find that shook that perception?

[Don't worry, Dorian, he'll slow down soon enough. He's not running away. Just trying to pick up the pace for his companion's sake. He definitely slows when his Lairon nips lightly at his metal fingers. Shooting a glance at the mage trundling along with them.]

[See look. Kuro is warming up.]

Sorry, bud. [And then, to Dorian.] It shouldn't have surprised us, either, thinking back on it.

[Though his expression does fall a little flat once the question comes up. One of these days, he's got to steer them to better topics. Anything, really, that doesn't come back to deep space horror. So... he schools it, abruptly. Changes the topic from the Galra ship blotting out the stars to...]

Our Princess. [He can smile when he says it, now.] Well. The Princess, I guess. But we're technically under her command.

And she made it very clear she's the furthest thing from human you can get.

[An interesting sort of tightness stirred within Dorian's chest. The immediate presence of a woman didn't mean anything, or at least that was what he tried to tell himself. And yet, despite Shiro's words, despite the assurance, he felt tense. He forced a smile to his lips, one that came far too easily. This had happened more times than he cared to admit.]

A princess for the prince. How fitting. [Spoken with all the usual amount of charm. In fact, if not for the way Dorian quickly looked away again, one might not have even been able to tell he was bothered at all.]

You will have to explain to me how not being human correlates to being advanced, of course. [Finally his gaze came back, all sorrow or doubt gone once more. It didn't mean anything, he repeated to himself. Not until Shiro said as much.] Where I come from, there are elves and dwarves even the Qunari I told you about. Each of them have their own talents, but none of them are more advanced than the other.

[He laughs, at that. Shaking his head in disbelief. What kind of joke is that? It's funny, at least. But then again, Shiro's sense of humor is pretty crap to begin with.]

She'd be the last person to call me a prince. Second-last. I'd be the last.

[Because she's still important to him. She's their guide. A friend. Someone he owes a very great deal to right now. And who he might never be able to make it up to.] We would just be lost in space without her. And she'd be asleep without us.

She's part of our team. [And then a shrug, thoughtfully.] I think it's advanced -- her people can just change themselves. Size, skin tone... that kind of thing. It's amazing.

Plus, you know. Technologically speaking, they're miles ahead of humans.

... Wait. Elves? Really?

[Well that was reassuring, at least. There wasn't anything immediately poignant about the way Shiro spoke of his princess, which meant Dorian could relax, at least for the time being. He wasn't out of the game yet, at the very least.]

[Still, she and her people hardly sounded advanced to Dorian. Not in a time where magic and potions could easily change such features. It was interesting, absolutely, but nothing out of the norm for the mage.]

[But technology -- that was what he was getting at.]

What can they do compared to, say, a place like this? [Because Johto and Kanto combined both were a wonder to Dorian. Did that mean there was even more potential for development out there? He hoped as much.]

[At Shiro's question, Dorian simply shrugged.]

And dwarves, yes, that is what I said.

[Allura is a friend. A very important one. He just hopes he'll be able to tell her that to her face someday. Not knowing if she knew what it meant to him, her sacrifice... His hand curls around the ball holding her pokemon. Idly. At least he could do this for her.]

[Though he has to think for a minute. Not of examples, but of how best to explain things, slowing his steps in the process.]

They've mastered some kind of technology that lets them control these things called 'wormholes'. They're... basically portals in space and time. Once you jump through one of the ones the Ship's made, you can go basically anywhere in the universe. Immediately.

[Not to mention their life support and medical tech. Or Voltron itself. Or how it seemed like magic just permeated everything Allura did. Though whether or not that was just her family in particular, he has no idea.]

So... elves are... real? For you? And dwarves?

[Does Dorian live in Disneyland.]

Amazing. [There was no disguising the wonderment in Dorian's voice. He'd seen similar magical concepts -- the eluvians being one of them -- but nothing to travel space. To jump between the stars at a minutes notice.]

[His breath left his lungs. It was a shame they had met here, in this place, and not in a world like Shiro's. To leap from the stars, plunder advanced technology.]

You are absolutely something else, Shiro. [He spoke it not with the usual sort of flirtatious tone, but in a soft tone. Hushed. The amazement had yet to leave him.]

[It was difficult, agonizingly so, to backtrack and focus on himself. What had come so easy earlier was now locked behind a vivid mindscape of leaping from star to star. What did his own world matter, when they couldn't so much as do that. Magic was certainly something, but was familiar, boring even.]

Indeed. [He blinked hard, trying to force out more than just a one-word answer.] It's... We're all rather separated, especially where I am. I mentioned before that where I am from was notorious for slavery, yes? We... oft considered elves lesser than us. Really, anyone who couldn't do magic was lesser than us. Even some who could.

The dwarves on the other hand are geniuses in their own rights. Their technological advancements have nothing on traveling space but... for what we do have. [He shrugged.]

I... what?

[Well that stops him where he's standing. If Dorian thought he was blushing before, it's incredibly vivid now. It doesn't help that space and captivity made him pale as paper. It's like someone suddenly dyed his face the same color as a tomato.]

I'm just the messenger. [Allura's people were the amazing ones. He's just relaying information, here. After what happened back there, back on the Galra ship, he doesn't feel particularly amazing.]

[Some of that color in his cheeks fades a bit -- at the mention of slavery. Because that pings all kinds of thoughts in his head he didn't particularly want to have. But, thankfully, the topic moves on. So all he has to do is nod vaguely, and keep on going.]

[Talk about these genius dwarves, instead. Right. Better plan. He takes a minute to try and steady himself, feeling Kuro lean against his leg for support.] None of that is real, back home.

But I guess Alteans kind of look like elves.

[A brow slid up Dorian's forehead and his head tilted as the man spoke. Perhaps the messenger, but Dorian had yet to hear anyone else say such a thing. Not that he suspected it would have changed his opinion of Shiro. The attractive face certainly helped things.]

[He lifted a hand, resting it upon said attractive face. His thumb traced along the scar there, smile fading in the slightest. There was a story there, a troubling one -- likely the same one that took the color from his cheeks.]

[The smile on his lips shifted, becoming something oddly sentimental and verging on the syrupy.]

You say it so well, darling. [His hand fell to his side, and suddenly he was business as usual. He stepped away, sauntering forward with perhaps something of a swish in his hips.]

It's odd, hearing that that isn't real. Seeing as how the biggest pain in my arse is a very real dwarf. Interesting to know that there are some similarities across our worlds.

[Well. That. Was unexpected. Maybe he should have seen it coming. Or should have at least had an inkling. Something. But he'd been convinced this was how a friend would act. He's... been way, way too out of touch with other adult humans, apparently.]

[That blush comes racing back, as soon as he feels fingers against his skin.]

[So this...?]

Wait... [Dorian is already turning away, but suddenly, he has to know. Because, really, it's important to him. He doesn't want to do this wrong. Or lead him on, or whatever it is that might have accidentally happened here.] Are you -- are you flirting with me?

[He'll get back to dwarves. Really.]

[Dorian had been trying to be understanding, he really had. And yet in the face of it all, the mage couldn't hold back. It started with a sort of tremble in his chest, and he had to turn away as he let out an ungainly and altogether embarrassing snort.]

[It only got worse, turning into the sort of chuckle that he often heard from the drunk men at the Herald's Rest. It was giddy and excited, and altogether entirely unlike him.]

[It took a good minute for him to calm down, at least enough to choke out a few words, even though a trembling, silent laugh clung to him.]

Maker's breath, Shiro, is that what it took? [He shook his head.] Yes, you incredibly daft man. I am. I have been for the better part of my time here, my friend.

[That's what it took, all right.]

[Dorian just... laughing... didn't help matters, either. He felt like he should be annoyed here. Why didn't anyone just come out and say things anymore? Like Lance. Why couldn't everyone be obvious like that? It would make life so much easier.]

[Somewhere in the process of that thought, it hit him what exactly it was he was thinking.]

[Wow. He really was hopeless.]

Yeah. It... yeah. It did. [He looks down at his Lairon, who is pointedly looking away from him.] Why didn't you just... say so?

[The mage made a face, a mix of amusement and frustration. Back home, or perhaps with anyone else, he would have already won them over. At yet, that was what endeared Shiro to him -- between the stars and the acute fascination was the fact that the man before him just wasn't like anyone else out there.]

[As he swallowed back the last of his laughs, Dorian's expression grew serious. He considered reaching out again, but held back. If this was to be their moment of truth, then he wouldn't lay a hand on him. If his companion saw the need to leave, to walk away from the whole affair, then Dorian wouldn't hold him back.]

Two things -- you may think me a master of flirtation, but the truth is that I have never been so... serious about matters like this. Usually when I play this sort of game, it's to win a night or two of companionship.

That... is not what I'm looking for here.

The second is that, again, you are quite daft. I have been incredibly obvious in regards to my inclinations, my friend.

[Hoo boy. This was... apparently a lot more serious than expected. He has to take a minute to think this through. Focus. Think about this.]

[Is he opposed to the idea? He can't really think of why. Has it ever occurred to him to be... well. An option? No, not really. No one had. There just hadn't been time. For anything. And then space happened -- all of it. After that, he'd been here, and looking after the others, and the pokemon and... why... is this even happening?]

[Why would someone flirt with him seriously? From the way the other is talking, this is a little bit more serious to Dorian than the way Lance flirted with anything with a vaguely female shape. More than a little bit, really. So why?]

What... are you looking for, exactly?

[It's not a rejection. He does his absolute best to keep everything and anything like rejection out of his tone. It's just... ]

[Why? Why him? There's got to be better prospects for someone like this. Someone well-spoken and intelligent. He's just ... someone who left people behind.]

To be quite honest, I don't know.

[Yes, he'd thought about it. Maker, he had thought about it time and time again. But in truth, he didn't know what to expect. It wasn't Shiro's fault, not one bit. Dorian just had never taken this kind of step before. There had been men who had caught his attention like this before, but he'd never been in the position to really try.]

Like I said, usually things are far more... simple than this. I've told you about my homeland and its many unpleasantness. Men like me were an aberration, a flaw in the grand designs that bloodlines so often were. And so I could never afford anything long-winded.

It should say something then, what it means that you were able to awaken such a want then.

[A breath escaped him, sharp in his lungs. For a moment, his expression looked pained.]

Again, I cannot say I know what I want. Only for this to continue. Perhaps see where things naturally go.

It's not like that where I'm from.

[He means it as a reassurance. Because there's plenty of people in the world -- plenty of them whose feelings run that way. A reassurance Dorian's not as alone as it sounds like he might be. Even if it's a world away. And that he doesn't have a problem with him. Not because of that.]

[They're friends already, aren't they? No reason to change that part for the worse, just because of who he happened to like.]

[If all he wants is to see how things go... then...? Then maybe he doesn't have a right to question him. To unload all the reasons why it's probably a bad idea to invest time here. Because there are still words bouncing around in his head, the feeling of glass cracking under his fist and the sight of someone who never should have suffered another day taking the fall for him.]

[Why should he 'awaken' anything?]

You could do a lot better, I'm sure. [That's all he says on it, for now. Because Dorian doesn't need to hear the messy details. Or the fears and the concerns. Just downplay it all. Stay in control.]

I'm still grateful you came out all this way. It's... really good to see you in person. [He shifts where he stands, looking down at Kuro's broad, concerned expression.] So... I'd be a real jerk to just kick you out of town.

[Continue on, then, in other words. Maybe... if things got more personal, he'd have to break it to him then. That the voice he'd heard deep in the castle might have been right.]

[A breath Dorian wasn't aware he was holding rushed from his lungs. He flashed Shiro a smile, one more suited to his character. It wasn't a direct rejection (and there was no mention of the Princess either, to his relief), which was enough for the time being.]

[He had worked with less.]

Very well then. [He let out a slow sigh.] Would it be too bold of me to ask to call it a date?

[It wouldn't be any skin off his back if Shiro rejected the idea. If he could manage to win Anders over after their disastrous beginnings, there would be no problem with making something happen with Shiro. Maker willing, at least.]

[Honestly, he can see that relief. And it tells him that was the right answer. No matter what happens, no matter what goes through his head... putting others' needs, others' wants first, is just who he is. What he's done for so long, he's not even sure he knows how not to do it.]

[... except the blush is back as soon as the word 'date' comes out. Maybe his subconscious is better at this than the rest of him.]

I can't stop you.

[It's not a flat-out no, either. Because even if this is a lot for him to think about, process, he doesn't have it in him to say otherwise.]

[It's not fair to Dorian.]

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