controllings | The Ton

[ It's roughly 10:00 in the morning and someone is banging on Sebastian's apartment door. The sight greeting him when he answers it is a (perhaps distressingly) familiar young man with his hair in a side-part, with mousy-brown roots showing in otherwise bleached ashy-blond hair, in boots, breeches, and a dress shirt, which is probably a little undressed but it's still within the Crescent, it's still morning, so who gives a fuck.

He has a certain black cat tucked in against his side, under the crook of his arm, and it's what Leon's looking at while he speaks. ]

Joseph, this cat was outside your door, is it—?

[ The only person who ever knocks on Sebastian's door is already in the room, so he's somewhere between cautious and annoyed that someone else has taken up the habit.

The first thing he notices is Hina, as well, and has already jumped to the conclusion this is someone just showing concern for the little beast when 'Joseph' clicks along with the assumption. And the man's face. ]

She likes to think so.

[ A beat, while he lets that sink in. ]

Looking for Joseph?

[ Leon's head swings up at the sound of a voice that tugs on a half-remembered night of revelry and also isn't, notably, Joseph's, and his eyes momentarily widen a little.

Aw, fuck.

In Leon's distraction, Hina squirms out of his arm and drops lightly to the floor, trotting inside with her tail high. ]

Hey—! [ Leon can already tell it's too late to stop the cat, not with the man standing at the door. ] Look, I...

[ He leans just enough to one side to furrow his eyebrows at Joseph, already inside an apartment he can tell on a glance isn't his, the scent of coffee wafting from the doorway. ]

Wait— but that's— [ Starting to point behind himself at the other door across the hall, he's visibly putting it together. ] Sorry to interrupt.

[Joseph is quite comfy on the couch across the room, enjoying a cup of coffee over what appears to be a pile of notes scattered across the coffee table. He sets down his cup when he hears his name, stands up, and perks up both to see Leon and-]

Oh, hey Leon. The princess made demands of you, did she? [With a suspicious glance towards Hina, heading towards him with absolutely no shame in her gait.] You little menace.

[Distracted by the menace, he has absolutely not caught on to any awkwardness at the doorway just yet.]

[ Leon.

Ah.

He steps back, opening the door a little wider like a proper invitation. ]

Come on in, Leon.

[ Like he didn't just learn the man's name three seconds ago, and yeah, there's something in his smile about it, enjoying the power move for a whole three seconds. ]

Coffee?

[ It doesn't even seem that remarkable to Leon that Joseph would already be in someone's sitting room, making friendly. In his experience, Joseph was one of the few Leon could say he's come to trust so quickly (or be endeared to so fast outside of a life-or-death situation) in recent history. So why wouldn't he have that same effect on other expats?

He hesitates, feeling a little like the one guy who didn't get the memo. Eventually, he huffs a self-conscious sound that might almost be a laugh. His dry answer has as much to do with that look on Sebastian's face as it does the invitation. ] Thanks.

[ With his hands lifting from his sides and a tilt of his head, he raises his eyebrows. ] Smells good, you won't hear me turn down a cup of joe. [ Stepping inside, he looks more to Joseph than Seb for this question: ] ...You two know each other?

[Joseph, pleased as punch that two of his friends are in the same place for a pleasant morning coffee, has scooped Hina up off the ground. She immediately flops into his arms and he holds her like a baby, bouncing and rocking her because she's absolutely starved for attention Father, nobody loves her, nobody's even looked at her in MOMENTS-

And then Leon's question strikes him as off, somehow. Of course Joseph and Sebastian know each other. Anybody who'd spoken to either of them for more than five minutes would know that. Though... come to think of it... Leon and Sebastian didn't do much "speaking" that time...]

... You two don't?

Of course we do!

[ "Shit eating grin" is probably the correct term for Sebastian's expression, along with the shameless eye contact, as he reaches out and claps Leon on the upper arm (god the muscle on this guy) and brushes past him to pour another cup of coffee for Leon.

It's unfair, and it'll get awkward fast, but fuck if he's not going to enjoy it for a minute or so before it bites him on the ass.

His way of showing mercy is to mouth Sebastian at Leon when he hands him the cup of coffee, his back to Joseph, and winks before turning to head back over to the couch to let Joseph figure out why he's being Called On. ]

Edited 2023-06-30 02:57 (UTC)

[ It's perhaps fortunate that Leon doesn't have to face Joseph to toss this look at Sebastian when he asserts that they know each other, of course they do, because they never exchanged names--

Or rather, it would be fortunate, if he wasn't in a room with two detectives who were good at their jobs. He can only hope that cat is occupying too much of Joseph's attention to notice the flinty reception from Leon, who accepts the freshly-poured cup of coffee with a squint for his attempt to mouth the name to him.

Sebastian?

Wait... THAT Sebastian?

It's a small miracle he doesn't actually say that out loud, but the question is writ large on his face for a second, before he tries to pretend he's surprised not by this, but by the taste of his coffee. ]

Uh... [ No, nope. Leon can't quite bring himself to lie to Joseph. So he redirects: ] You have a cat now?

[It's Sebastian's grin and tone that gets him the most suspicious, actually. Joseph gives him a terribly familiar side-eye as he returns to the couch, cat in tow.]

Oh, yeah. This is Hina. She's my cat from home. I didn't know Pheme was in the business of snatching pets, but she was waiting in my room when we got back from charm school. [When he sits, Hina immediately revokes permission to be held, stretching herself out with two paws on Joseph's leg and pacing back and forth before she settles in beside him, looking very smug.]

She's a brat, but she's very sweet. And distressingly good at getting the doors open on her own.

[He returns the bulk of his attention to looking between Leon and Sebastian, trying to get a read on the situation and also trying very hard not to think about the last time he saw them together, when Sebastian was buried deep in Leon's-] We were just going over some of my notes again, actually...

[ It's not like he was trying to be subtle. He ignores the side-eye but he can feel it just fine.

For his part, his attention is split between Leon and Joseph, as if piecing something together—then catching himself and reaching for his own coffee. Everyone in this room has eyes. Hopefully they have some discretion, too.

He reaches out to scritch Hina on the head, behind her ears, when she settles in between him and Joseph, and smirks at the little devil. She seems all too pleased with herself. ]

So you were looking for Joseph?

[ He's still looking at Hina when he asks, but his attention is all on Leon after a breath. ]

Or just caught in the wake of hurricane Hina?

[ A bisexual agent during DADT means you needed discretion to avoid problems. Doesn't come without its own prickly situations. To his credit, Leon's shield can be his tendency to crack wise (terribly) or the guarded distance he's putting up right now, pleasant enough, if barely. The coffee in his hands feels like a laurel branch, or at least a consolation prize for intruding on something; it's welcome, but he couldn't say he's at ease.

The fact that he distinctly recalls getting to know Sebastian on a carnal level in full view of Joseph is one thing. How thoroughly Joseph had licked the taste of Sebastian out of his mouth as they kissed is quite another.

Joseph's mentioned Sebastian. Several times, in fact. Said they were partners, spoke with the kind of palpable fondness that had, admittedly, led Leon to wondering if he hadn't misunderstood what kind of partner he was talking about. The lines can get blurry. He'd know. Right now, the way they're sitting with Joseph's pet from home happy as can be between them? He's pretty sure that line might have vanished a while ago.

The explanation for Hina gets a subtle nod, but no comment beyond a brief softening of his expression, associating that pampered cat with Joseph's conscientious but affable nature polishes another facet of his already sparkling personality. It's Sebastian's question he addresses with a little shake of his head. ]

Nothing urgent. Whetstone's coming along and I wanted to bounce some ideas about the shooting range from another badge.

[Joseph is deeply, deeply worried about discretion at the moment. Not that he thinks either Leon or Sebastian are the type to casually bring up intimate moments like that, but Sebastian is the type to push buttons, especially Joseph's. And he doesn't want Leon thinking he's told Sebastian all about their intimate moments. And he doesn't want Sebastian thinking Leon is more than a trusted, reliable friend who he's also fucked several times and loved every screaming, moaning, out-of-his-mind delicious moment of it. And he doesn't want either of them bringing up that time Joseph got off hard on watching the two of them-]

Yeah! The training ground I mentioned, Seb. [Does he sound just a little too eager to get on this subject? Oh he does, doesn't he? Fuck! They're gonna both realize how nervous he is, they're both smart, he's so fucking obvious-] Sebastian was a patrol officer for a long time, so he'll have some good input too.

[ Bluntly, someone else's discomfort in his presence generally isn't Sebastian's concern. There's a reason he doesn't usually play good cop. Well, many, but mostly it's because that's the man next to him. And that's just because he's a good man at baseline.

That said, Leon is a friend of Joseph's, and while Sebastian doesn't always (read: ever) tend to agree with the slack Joseph cuts other people, he's not here to fuck up his relationships on purpose. Besides, Joseph seems genuinely happy to know the guy, if the gushing praise and carefully worded anecdotes were anything to go by.

The fact that he's (they're? looking like they're both—) intimately familiar with Leon's mouth in more ways than one is just complicating things, actually.

And then Joseph starts squeaking. ]

Right, I remember. [ He breezes right past any associations anyone else in the room might be making about his career. ] Still working with a stationary target gallery?

[ a beat, a self-deprecating smile, oddly. ]

And pull up a chair if you're not gonna bolt.

[ Sebastian... or, as Joseph puts it, Seb, was a patrol officer. Of fucking course he was, Leon inwardly sighs, reminded of the way and manner in which he'd flirted with him during the Bacchanalia. This isn't misery on the level of a certain dinner party, but this is embarrassing. Not quite on the level of a regret, but he hears that tension in Joseph's voice and wonders if he does. ]

Yeah. Well— [ Leon finds it easier to lean into a subject that might relieve Joseph of some of that than to continue navel-gazing at his own decisions while inebriated. He takes a seat and with him, that cup of coffee, which he cradles between his hands, leaning forward. ] —moving targets are harder to pull off.

[ More accurately the level and availability of technology. ]

Could do something simple. Mechanical. It'll require manpower. I don't think anybody wants to spend every open hour babysitting the range.

[ Considering every time Leon looks at Sebastian he's reminded of how he sounds when he's getting off, those glances are going to continue to be brief until he gets over it. ]

Pulleys.

[Joseph's immediately reaching for his notebook set on the table. With frankly concerning ease, he flips to a page where there's a careful sketch, labeled with his own neat handwriting.

Not only is this a great change of subject, nerdlord here was already completely prepared to discuss it.]

I had an idea a few weeks ago. We could hook something up with pulleys... I thought about some kind of water power as well, maybe from a tank that drains via gravity. It'd give us a few minutes of motion before needing to be refilled, unless we can work out some kind of manual pump. But that'd be manpower, like you said...

[Does Leon think Joseph and Sebastian are having sex? He definitely thinks that, doesn't he...]

[ Sebastian does his best to tone down the fondness of "you fucking nerd" in his smile when Joseph not only rolls with the subject immediately, but has already done his research, as well. It's not surprising. Doesn't make it any less impressive, though.

He shoves down the guilt at how easy it is to just roll with this, himself, like the biggest problem they could be facing right now is how to finagle early 19th century tech into a shooting range.

There's a whole lot of lack of eye contact in the room, and for the moment he's content to let that lie, too. He's got a good memory. He knows what Leon's eyes look like glancing up at his with his mouth full, what his hair feels like between his fingers. And it's a lot easier not to think about that when he would also have to think about how the man sitting next to him saw all that, too. ]

You've already thought of everything. [ the praise is automatic, but no less sincere for it. ]

[ he shrugs in Leon's general direction. ]

I'm better at knocking it down once it's set up.

[ And hell if he's going to make any suggestions that amount to a treadmill to run a track while trying to shoot. ]

—Could teach a Boy Scout a thing or two.

[ Leon's own admiring commentary trips over the tail end of Sebastian's praise, as the agent shakes his head in wonder, a vague smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. That's Joseph for you, he thinks, remembering their conversation that first broached the subject of Whetstone with Caleb, in the aftermath of the flood.

What tugs him out of his reverie is Sebastian's shrug at him, it draws another quick glance, then he's smirking down at his coffee with a half-shrug. ]

I think between the three of us, we can make it work. There's pulleys and rope at the fort already. New rope, the old ones were too rotted out to use.

[ This is a lot easier to lose himself in with this mixed company of confidant and relative stranger, and takes Leon's mind off vexing memories like the weight of Joseph's gaze while Leon's head bobbed between Sebastian's thighs, or the sweep of hot goosebumps Joseph's voice pinched up all over when Leon's fist worked his cock, lips kissing up flushed marks on his neck. ]

Water power's a good idea. We've been meaning to use the tanks for the shower rooms. Shaxx says he has a way to heat the water, but steam power? Way beyond me.

[The "you fucking nerd" is both felt and appreciated, thanks Seb.

Joseph's watching over the rims of his glasses as Leon and Sebastian make brief little glances. Yeah, he tells himself. Yeah this is probably awkward for them even MORE than it is for him. Except for the bit about Joseph being a voyeur. Watching his old friend and his new friend tangle up with each other, drinking in every little bit of pleasure the two of them expressed... licking the taste of one out of the mouth of the other like he needed it to live...

God. God, they must think he's such a freak-]

Steam is one option. Not sure how readily things like a boiler would be. I also thought perhaps we could build a small water-wheel. Water pours out of a basin and turns the wheel, which turns the pulley.

[Can you tell Joseph minored in engineering? He sets his notebook down on the table and points at a few different sketches.]

Of course this is all complicating what could be a simply pulley system... perhaps we focus on that first and see how much effort it takes us to keep it running, how often it realistically gets used.

[~~Hey what if Leon and Sebastian both had him- at the same time- holy shit...~~]

[ Good god, he's a cop, not an engineer, but it's not like he has anything better to do with his time here. Not much use for a cop, much less a homicide detective. And yet they all seem to find each other. Which sparks another thought, and the question is once again directed to Leon. ]

How many people are you expecting to make use of a shooting range?

[ While he doesn't exactly sound concerned about it, considering to hear Joseph tell it there hasn't been much crime of the traditional variety, if any, he's curious who beyond the three of them and this Shaxx guy actually have the capacity and desire to shoot at things.

Look, it's not like he wants there to be crime, but having that focus in his life is about the only thing that's kept him from... giving up. It's easier than it should be, to sit here and pretend he's just rolling with everything that's been thrown at him since waking up in Andovale, and it's been distraction enough, so far, but it's creeping up on him. Kind of like the weight of the flask in his jacket pocket and knowing damn well he wouldn't get away with pouring it into his coffee mug with two sets of eyes on his back.

Easier than having those eyes on his, though. ]

Two. [ Leon flicks a hand up, gesturing in a way that portrays how little he thinks it likely there will be more than two at a time. After all, if it's four? They can wait their turn. They're all lords and ladies and whatever the fuck else, free time isn't necessarily something they're short on. ]

Maybe three, four if people don't mind waiting. Unless either of you see where we've got something to lose but time making something like this?

[ He nods confidently in Joseph's direction, regardless of how many times he's shared a though like what Seb's having right now. ]

Count me in. Let's get this done, Joseph. Your way. It sounds like a solid plan.

If you mean in total... present company aside... [A pause in which Joseph adjusts his glasses.] Maybe one or two. Plus any of those who want to learn. [He starts jotting some things down in his notebook again as the stray thoughts hit him.

Leon's praise brings a modest little smile to his face. It means a lot to him to have Leon's approval, since this all started off as his idea and all. And he and Sebastian are attuned enough to be on similar wavelengths, as far as the time and effort goes.] It may take a few tries, but... it's not like we have all that much else to do around here. [Except like... sucking each others' dicks and watching.] Balls, I guess.

[Joseph suddenly coughs, clearing his throat.] Excuse me. Attending balls, I mean.

[ He's just taking the breath to rephrase his question when Joseph jumps in and reads his mind. At least twice over.

And because he's 12 years old, he huffs a laugh.

Balls, indeed. ]

Don't threaten me with a good time. [ drier than the goddamn Sahara. ]

[ He nods to Leon, making an attempt to hold's the man's gaze without anything bubbling up he doesn't care to add to the conversation. He's going to need to get a grip on that sooner than later. ]

I'll be there. [ Sure he's already been voluntold, but it feels better to commit himself. For whatever it's worth. ]

[ Really?

Blink and one or both of them might miss the rapid back-and-forth glance Leon makes between the two detectives. Leon's eyebrows shoot up towards his hairline as he... not quite ducks into drinking his coffee, but it's about accurate.

It's deeply inappropriate to be speculating on the nature of the relationship of the other two men in this room, let alone the way his memories of that night with one keeps crashing together with those involving the other. Leon's imagination splicing together Sebastian's sexy rumble and the edifying, horny things Joseph breathed into his ear is the least helpful thing his brain can do at a time like this.

He's gonna need to rub one out later, Christ. ]

You two got any plans tomorrow morning? Could show you how it's shaping up at Whetstone, see what kind of materials we'll need for Joseph's idea.

[If you don't mind, Joseph's just going to cringe himself inside out and wither into a husk over here, thanks.

He gives Sebastian a very practiced, very weary side-eye at his remark, then heroically tries to ignore that anything ever happened.]

That sounds great. I'll try to finalize some drawings so we can make some estimates of how much we'll need. We'll be there.

[He's answering for Sebastian there, but something tells him he's not got any balls to attend to tomorrow. Attend. Jesus FUCKING Christ...]

[ Well, he already said he'd be there, so he nods again, grunts an affirmative.

The distinct lack of direction, and options, of his presence in Andovale mean he's more than happy to let someone else make this decision for him, too. Joseph's already fallen back into speaking for him, and he can't blame the man. He's waiting for the other shoe to drop, too.

Or his balls. ]

It's a date.

[ Because no, he couldn't leave well enough alone, while sitting back on the couch in a facsimile of something casual, as if he's finally decided to settle in. ]

It's a date.

[ The cadence is a little distinct from Sebastian's, but their voices overlay each other at very nearly perfect unison. He glances in the older detective's direction, the corner of his mouth quirking up slightly as he exhales a puff, quietly surprised, a little amused. ]

Took the words right outta my mouth.

[ Did that break the ice just a little? Depends. On Joseph, maybe, as the one guy he knows more, uh, intimately than he knows Sebastian (but only as much as a guy who's been fucking him since maybe a couple of weeks since they met might know a guy). ]

The Ton | I N B O X

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