xivyxx

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien was disappointed to feel Faolan lift his arms off of him. There was a part of him that didn't want him to let go, that wanted to lay with the Irishman for a little longer, but he controlled himself. It seemed he had become a little greedy. His eyes didn't leave Faolan as the man got off the bed to retrieve his clothes, though he did force himself to look away as he looked down at his own state of disheveled clothing. Finally he brought himself to sit up, letting out a small groan at the throbbing in his head.

"Do you have a headache too or is it just me?" He muttered. The fact that Faolan was not making any attempt to talk about last night threw him off a little.. but then again the Irishman had never been really good at talking. Was he just.. going to forget about it? Did he even remember? Even though he hadn't gotten drunk before he did know some people's memories got a bit fuzzy. He had overheard plenty of stories in the bar he had worked at. No.. that couldn't be the case. They had woken up on the same bed after all.. even if he didn't remember.. that would still be something to question. Part of him felt like he was just overthinking everything but.. he didn't just want to leave things like this, specially not with Faolan about to take his leave.

"Wait, Faolan.." He called out, finally rising from the bed. "Shouldn't we.. talk?" He finally brought himself to say.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Akane was quiet at Cora and Illyana's exchange, simply listening for a moment. Based on what she had seen she did agree with Cora. Geralt was a very charming and flattering man, but this was something that Lucien had preemptively warned them about. So far she didn't have any specific reasons for suspecting him of being a bad person. While she agreed that Lucien and Geralt were a little similar, there was something she could see that was completely different between them. There was a.. bright energy that always radiated from Lucien that always made her feel comfortable to be around him.. That was something Geralt clearly lacked, but there was also what she had felt when she had touched him. It was like her instincts were telling her to stay away, but she could not comprehend why, and it was hard to make a straight judgement based on that.

Ivory let out a small sigh, not really surprised that Cora had inquired about this. "I can see why he would remind you of Lucien, but if I must be honest, I believe them to be on completely opposite sides of the spectrum. I get why you'd take a liking to him, he's been nothing but nice to you since you've met, but I still would like to ask you to be careful. Just because someone acts really nice and says all these flattering things doesn't mean they aren't deceiving you. Bad people don't always wear their true colors on the outside." She told her.

"I know that I'm being a little biased here, but I at least want to ask you to be careful. Be watchful, and try not to get swept away by him." Her goal here was not to get the other two women to hate him, she knew she could not force that on them, they were entitled to their own opinions, all she wanted was for them to exert caution around him.

Aurel glanced at Ivory and then at Cora, before lowering his gaze slightly. He more than anyone understood just how much a person could lie behind a smile. While this was something he hated to talk about, and something only Lucien and Illyana knew about, he felt the need to speak up, to at least make them consider the possibilities.

"I don't.. disagree with Ivory. I've met someone like that before.. someone who acted really kind but was really a terrible person.. It's.. hard to gauge what someone's really like if they're the type of person who's good at hiding it. Sometimes people are only nice because they want something.." He said quietly. "here's... also the fact that my snakes don't really like him either.. and that makes me a little wary.."

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Aurel glanced at Geralt as he commented about Lucien's set of skills. Perhaps that was a slip up on his part, he hadn't meant to make Lucien sound more interesting, but he couldn't really deny those facts. "I wouldn't really call him an enthusiast he just likes to pick up random skills." He said simply. All the years he had known the Ringleader showed him just how many different sets of skills the Frenchman had. It had been really impressive for him as a child, but knowing how his upbringing had been, it wasn't surprising. One had to fill up all that free time somehow, but that was something Aurel and Illy had both learned to do growing up.

Akane had been doing a decent job of keeping her gaze anywhere but on the cards in front of her. She did notice however, when Geralt had grabbed hold of the Joker from her. It was very hard to hide her disappointment when he had stopped himself from taking it when Ivory arrived. Had her fox ears been exposed, they would have immediately flattened.

Ivory glanced down at Geralt, but decided not to answer his question, simply making her way around the table and taking his place. She glanced down at the cards to see which he had left. It seemed he at least did not have the joker.

"Makes me want to lose." She muttered under her breath once the man had gone, before reaching out and taking a card from Cora. No pair.

"Do you know what Lucien wants to talk to him about..?" Aurel asked curiously, watching Geralt head off to the Ringleader's trailer.

"Just show stuff. He'll be performing last on our final show day, after me." She said with a sigh.

"How exciting. I can't wait to be able to see what his show is actually like." Akane commented. "You don't seem very happy about it though."

At this Ivory glanced at Akane. "I'll have to practice with him and I'm not a huge fan of him, so yeah." She grumbled. "You and Cora don't seem to have that problem though." She said, deciding to use this chance to maybe talk to the two women about Geralt. It seemed like the man may have already won Cora over, but she wasn't sure about Akane yet, she was just usually friendly with everyone.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien wasn't sure how long it had actually taken him to drift into unconsciousness, but it had been a smooth transition, and despite the headache he had been trying to fight off, he managed to sleep quite soundly. The body heat Faolan provided throughout the night made the blankets almost completely unnecessary, and he had found himself curling up against him to seek more of his warmth. It felt like the most natural thing in the world for him, and not once had he awakened throughout the night, feeling completely safe in his arms.

It was the sensation of being watched that ended up rousing the Frenchman from his sleep the next morning. Tiredly he opened his eyes, grimacing slightly at the loud pounding in his head. He supposed that was what people called a hangover. Having worked at bars on multiple occasions, the term had come up often for him. For a moment his vision was blurry, but as it cleared, he found his gaze meeting with Faolan's dark emerald eyes. It took a moment for him to register their current position.. the warmth he felt even now, before he was hit with the memories of what had transpired last night during their drunken fiasco. The thought brought a redness to his cheeks, but he didn't make any attempt to move away from the Irishman. That.. had really happened.

For a moment he thought it might have all been a dream.. but considering their current position now, it was definitely not possible. There was no doubt that it had occurred. How did he feel about it? Embarrassed, certainly. Never had the Frenchman acted with such... little control. It had been the first time in his life he had been overcome with such a desire.. and it was certainly a new feeling for him.

"Good morning.." He said, his voice a little raspy. Even though he didn't regret anything that happened, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to act with Faolan now that they had crossed this line. Should he.. try to not make things awkward by acting normal..? Or should he bring it up? He just didn't know. This was all new to him. For once he just didn't know what to say.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

It was hearing Faolan leave his bed that snapped the Frenchman out of his thoughts. For a moment he didn't react, unsure of what the man was going to do, but then he heard him approach. Did.. he want to talk about it after all? He had been thinking about it so much, but the thought of actually having the conversation stumped him for a moment.

Then the blanket lifted, and he felt Faolan's weight on the bed. This had surprised him, and caused him to open his eyes as he could feel Faolan's warmth at his back. Before he had felt cold.. but now that the Irishman was next to him.. he felt warm again. He found himself instinctively relaxing after he felt Faolan's arm across his body. This action gave the Frenchman the sense of reassurance he needed. He had been craving the other man's touch, and despite having him so close by in the room, it still hadn't felt near enough.. until now. He had practically melted into his arms. It just felt.. so right. He turned slightly to look up at Faolan, his expression softening.

"Yeah.. it's okay." He said, giving him a small smile, curling up slightly against him. While there were so many things he would have liked to talk about, in this moment.. this was enough to tell him that things would be okay. It was what he needed to finally be able to relax enough to lose himself to sleep. While very aware of the Irishman's presence behind him, he felt extremely comforted by it, and no longer felt like he was alone. He shifted slightly, to place his own hand over Faolan's.

"Sleep well.." His tone was much softer, but also much brighter than his last goodnight to him. He closed his eyes, his expression becoming more peaceful than before. This way.. he felt like he'd be able to sleep just fine.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

It had taken a little while for Geralt to answer Akane's question, but she didn't pressure it, and gave him the time he needed, though it did make her curious as to why this might have seemed like such a hard question to answer. She had thought it was simple enough, but upon receiving it, she smiled widely at him, glad to hear it was the case.

"I'm glad." She said, before turning her attention to Illy as she said what card she wanted from Cora. She was quick to hand it over to her without looking at it, but was mostly paying attention to Geralt and Cora's exchange. It made her curious of what other cool tricks he could do with his hands.

"Hmm? Oh, right!" She said, before reaching over and taking a card from Aurel, excited to have found a pair to drop.

"You and Aurel have that in common, he's pretty quick too! Have you ever been interested in card tricks, Aurel?" She asked the other man, who hadn't been expecting to be dragged into the conversation.

"I mean.. they're cool looking. I've seen Lucien do a couple before.. I just didn't think to try it." He muttered. Aurel had never been a fast runner, and his physique had never been particularly strong, but he had always had very fast reflexes and reaction times.. maybe it was from learning to hunt for food as a kid, but that much had always seemed natural to him. It was typical of a snake so.. perhaps that was why.

-

Ivory made her way across the grounds again toward the mess area, despite the sun making it harder for her to see, she could vaguely tell that Illy actually did join the card game. That was good, though it didn't seem like they had quite finished.

"Lucien's asking for you." She told the magician blatantly before she took a seat next to the fortune teller.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Once they had arrived at their temporary home. Lucien wasn't sure of what he should do. He looked up at Faolan, just as he had turned in his direction, and for a moment he felt his heart skip a beat. Part of him hoped that Faolan would bring up what happened but.. he didn't. He hoped.. he hadn't decided to just forget about it. There was something about it that was discouraging, even more so recalling that he would be leaving tomorrow, but he didn't argue. They had done enough of that today.

The Frenchman turned away from him and removed his shoes, before removing the vest over his button up shirt. He began to unbutton it, but then paused before removing it. Perhaps it was best he didn't, even if it was hot. Now that things had.. calmed, he began to feel tired, and decided to just get into his bed. He couldn't help but glance over at Faolan, who had removed his shirt. At this point he couldn't help but be conscious of the fact he was attracted to him, but still he tore his eyes away, and turned away from him.

"Goodnight, Faolan.." He said quietly before closing his eyes. Despite his attempt at trying to relax, it was harder to do than he had originally thought. He couldn't quite cave into the tiredness he felt, even if he wanted to ease the headache he was having. The events from before kept replaying in his head. He just couldn't stop thinking about what happened. Going forward.. what would this mean for him? Would Faolan really pretend it didn't happen? Or.. would they be able to talk about it? He just didn't know.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Aurel leaned slightly away as Geralt nudged him, though it wasn't such a large distance that it would be extremely noticeable to everyone. It was mostly out of surprise, since he wasn't quite used to the man just yet, but it didn't take long for him to readjust again.

"Yes, they are." He agreed. There was no denying that. Despite how hard it was for them to catch certain things at time, Aurel couldn't deny that over the years, both women had displayed large amounts of wisdom, even if they didn't appear to at first glance.

"Oh, I see." She responded. There was a very small amount of disappointment in her voice, but it went as quick as it came. It would have been nice to meet someone who might have lived just as long, but it wasn't that big of a deal. "Well if you've lost count, then it must have been a good amount of years right? Is it fun?" She asked. Surely if one dedicated so much time to something like that, then it was because they were enjoying themselves? Based on what she hard heard in regards to his first show, it sounded like it had been very fun.

"I think you playing can make things interesting, certainly more challenging for some. We're supposed to be learning to have better pokerfaces." Aurel spoke up as he reached over to take a card from Akane, but was disappointed to not find a pair. It seemed Geralt was quite confidence despite being at least a little aware of what Illy could do. It would be nice if she was able to beat him.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

The intensity of their contact only increased. He could feel Faolan's desire just as much as his own. He surrendered himself completely to the Irishman, too entranced by the feeling of his hand trailing down his body to hear the sound of laughter from further down the street. Feeling Faolan pull away, he couldn't help but lean forward, as if seeking more contact, but then stopped when he realized he had done it for a reason. He was going to speak up and question it but.. then Faolan silenced him. It was only then that he became aware of the fact people were nearing them. He managed to snap himself out of his trance as Faolan said they had to go. Right.. they were still out in public. It had been easy for him to forget about that in the moment. He couldn't help but stare at the man's hand as it still grasped his wrist, and was almost disappointed when it was released. He hadn't really wanted to break contact.. but they couldn't really walk out like this either. He simply nodded, attempting to fix the state of his clothing as they walked out of the alleyway.

It didn't seem like they had been seen, but Lucien didn't speak up, only followed. A part of him was still in a daze in regards of what had just happened. Even though.. they weren't touching anymore, he could still feel the heat from the places Faolan's fingers had touched... and he couldn't forget the feeling. He didn't want to forget the feeling. He couldn't stop his golden eyes from trailing to look up at the Irishman, as Lucien was lagging a bit behind him, taking in his current still disheveled state. Even though he was trying to seem composed, his heart still felt like it was pounding out of his chest.

The throbbing in his head made itself known again throughout their walk, which was entirely silent. It was honestly it was a little unnerving, considering what had just happened. Lucien would have liked to address it but.. at the same time it wasn't really a conversation they should really have out on the street. It was clear the last thing Faolan wanted was to be seen, so he respected that, and remained silent.

Cirque D'étoiles (1x1, FxM, MxM, FxF)

Lucien found himself consumed with these new feelings the longer he remained in contact with Faolan. His body and lips moved almost instinctively as Faolan pressed him against the opposing wall, reaching up to slide an arm around Faolan's broad shoulders to pull him closer to him, if that was possible. A light shudder went up his spine as he felt Faolan's warm hands make contact with his bare skin.

The Frenchman was overtaken by physical urges he had never felt or considered before, hyper-aware of just how tightly their bodies were pressing against each other. It was a pleasurable feeling, and a contact he didn't want to break as he found his left hand trailing down Faolan's chest, feeling the well-toned muscles through his shirt. Over the years he had always kept himself from staring at the Irishman too long when they were changing or bathing in the outdoors, not wanting to make Faolan uncomfortable, but he could not deny that he had always found Faolan to be an incredibly attractive man, he just hadn't realized there was more to that attraction than he had originally thought.

Now that he was able to touch him like this, he felt like all of his restraint was gone. Lucien's hand slid under his shirt and curled around his body, enjoying the feeling of the warmth he was providing him. Faolan's direct touch left trails of a burning fire across his skin, that only made him want more. The Frenchman's complexion was completely flushed, not only because of the alcohol but because of the feelings of arousal that were becoming harder for him to ignore. How much time had passed? He wasn't sure, but he didn't want this to end.