i think i could see the beach

lysanderxreis​:

This suddenly felt like a set up, and Lysander nearly turned tail and ran. Against his better judgement, he instead made his way over, settling down across from the two of them. Ikaros had more on him at this point in his life, but he didn’t want to point that out just yet. “I feel like I’m in trouble for something I haven’t even done yet,” he said finally, looking between Ikaros and Lucian. Their small talk was just that, but Lucian of course had more straightforward questions. “Was I here for a history lesson on kobaloi that Ikaros could’ve answered for you?” He huffed out a laugh, fixing Lucian with his blue gaze now, “Something like that. Basically, we’re like cockroaches – can’t get rid of us. Bit of a bitch when you are in the middle of a war and come back when it’s over.” 

@ikarosxtheoinos​

-

Blue eyes fixed on Lysander as the other kobalos sat across from him, seeing him was always nostalgic. They were a far cry from Strongoli, where Spartacus had made his final stand against Crassus, and yet still after all this time they were together again. The look in Ikaros’ eye is a distant one, hazy from an afternoon in the shade spent sipping wine with Lucian. “You’ve done plenty.” Ikaros reminded, his voice light before he drew his glass to his lips once more. “A shame about lost that last one,” Ikaros lamented, he wondered how differently their subsequent reincarnations might have been had they not both perished. “Lucian still thinks that vampires are more interesting than us, he has a whole wattpad dedicated to them. I’ll send you some links, racey stuff.” Ikaros mused lightly before he looked to Lucian, “It’s magic that keeps us in this world, without it we just die.” @luciankayames​

-

“I will have you know that my writing rarely gets racy in nature.” Lucian defends, swallowing a sour sip. It’s self indulgent sure, non descriptive for the most part...Maybe it was a bit racy as of late, being able to actually spend time with Ikaros in such a way again was surely a bit of an influence. The thought is there and then it is gone, he’s too focused on Lysander. Focused on Lysander and Ikaros and the gears start turning. He wonders what they’d been like in these previous lives and there’s just the faintest tinge of jealousy tinting the fantasy green. It’s irrational, instead he tries to think of the lives they could have, they have all this time. “I know a thing or two about that.” His lips twitch in a grimace before they settle into the usual smirk. He wanted a medal, a button, some kind of gold star for dying twice in the span of maybe eight weeks. “That’s got to be interesting though, you have all these different lives. How the hell do you keep track of that shit?” @lysanderxreis​

“Please do not quote she who must not be named at me.” Jackson’s intuition was sparked in this city, attuned to the world that they inhabited in at present: Corinth Bay was dangerous, it didn’t necessarily take magic to sense as much. All Jackson had to do was look in the obituaries to see that something was off, animal attacks, unexplained deaths. The city was a cesspool for supernatural activity and the journalist in Jackson just wanted to get to the heart of all of it. “The shadows are my new element, ever since I got my soul back its changed. I’m still clairvoyant, it’s just… I have this now.”

-

“And this is literal shadow manipulation?” It’d been a neat trick, he imagined such a thing would come in handy. But being him, he couldn’t just leave it there. Lucian was incapable of just not delving deeper into magic, even if he couldn’t use it anymore. He’s quick to go about his usual whiskey routine and shoves a glass across to Jackson before he picks up his own glass and cocks a hip against the bar. “What else can you do with it?”

It was almost ten o’clock in the morning so naturally Ikaros was already four mimosas deep when he sauntered into the living room, characteristically half-dressed as he made his way from the kitchen to the couch. A pitcher of the alcoholic beverage in one hand and a pair of glasses in the other. “For the last time, yes, you can convert one of the spare rooms into a red room.” Ikaros sighed good-naturedly before he poured Lucian a glass and sat himself down with his own, “This is your home too, it’s big. You don’t have to ask. Just do.” He drew the glass to his lips and took a sip before blue eyes met the blonde across from him. “There better not be another apocalypse, it’s not even noon and you know how I feel about bad news when I’m still mostly sober. What is it?”

-

Legs crossed at the ankle and elbows on his knees, Lucian waits as Ikaros gets situated. He has half a mind to just ignore his curiosity in favor of perching himself on the couch beside his significant other. Ever since their usual activities resumed, he would admit he’d been a little clingy in private. It could wait, he couldn’t help but be curious about what else was going on in the villa. “So, turns out Stephenie Meyer did get one thing right. Wolves do indeed kind of stink. You wanna explain why I could smell one the other day?” He hadn’t cared for wolves too much as a witch, but that’d been mostly out of solidarity for all the vampires in his life. Brow raised, he looks to Ikaros opposite him, just a little amused by his own banter. “I wouldn’t expect a wolf to be hanging around.”

“I can be the judge of that.” In truth, she had been gone so long that she was no expert to be discerning the quality of any drinks— if it was strong, she would drink it back, as long as there was no connotation that because of her origins and accent that she was only inclined to do one thing. Vika hated the idea of being predictable, in her mind there was nothing worse than being anticipated so plainly. The manticore perched on the stool and tossed blonde coils behind her back, leaning coquettishly— curved spine, one elbow against the bar, she formed an enticing silhouette: being a succubus had taught her such things. “It’s changed in some ways, but in many,” she gestured. “Still the same. It’s a pretty place, filled with ugly people. I like it.”

-

“That’s right, you said you’ve been here before.” There was this thing about older vampires that was so fucking interesting. They had all this history, but Lucian hadn’t ever thought that it’d been about that, he had thought the time they had was fascinating. Such a concept extended to anything else old and Vika is definitely something. He hasn’t asked, but he can feel it, he can smell it.

He is possibly a little afraid to ask her.

And yet, he’d been with Ikaros for over a year and he’d just sort of quietly accepted that he was something extraordinary, he could do with same with Vika. That didn’t mean he wasn’t terribly curious about her though. Sliding a finished drink over to her, he adds an unnecessary amount of whiskey to his own glass before setting the bottle down. “How long ago was that?”

“I guess you’d know, wouldn’t you?” Jackson pointed out, his expression smug as Lucian led the way. It was too bad about the other’s dad, the man was hot but also on the other side of the world. Not that Jackson was really looking, it was more amusing than anything to try and get a rise out of Lucian over it. “Been worse.” The witch offered, “Lost my soul for a minute.” He looked around the vacant bar for a minute before shadows reached from the floor and enveloped him, carrying him through space to bring him to a seated position on the opposite side of the bar. “Then I got it back. Now I can do that.” He disappeared and reappeared once more, this time sat on a stool in front of Lucian. “Don’t suppose Stephanie Meyer gave you any tips?”

-

“You lost your soul.” It’s not a question, Lucian repeats it and finds himself pausing to grab for his usual bottle of whiskey after setting both two glasses on the bar. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised in the slightest and yet he was intrigued by such a thing. He wasn’t spiritual by any means, but he knew such a thing existed. And Jackson would be the person to get his ‘lost’. He steps back entirely too fast the moment the man disappears and reappears only to quirk a brow at him. It’s new magic, something he hasn’t seen before. “No, Stephenie Meyer didn’t teach me jack shit, but apparently your ass learned to apparate. That’s a neat trick.” His shock and awe is gone in an instant, replaced with the usual sarcasm as he uncorks the crystal decanter of whiskey. “Probably could come in handy around here. Whole place is fucking weird.”

lysanderxreis​:

Lysander had been avoiding Ikaros, simply because he knew that in order for him to actually make good on his ability to leave he and Lucian alone. What he didn’t expect, though, was an invite from Lucian, and ending up in Ikaros’ winery. Perhaps now, he realized he could get a good gauge on their relationship. Crossing his arms over his chest, he fixed the vampire with an amused look. “You don’t give up, do you? It’s been too long to remember an age, but well before the beginning of the past two millennium.”

@ikarosxtheoinos​

-

While Lucian so far hadn’t demonstrated much of an interest in voyeurism, Ikaros was open to just about anything the vampire suggested. A bottle of wine between them, a comfortable spread of blankets and pillows beneath them, the vineyard around them - it was nice. The sort of romantic scene that bordered on nostalgia for the trickster. Lysander’s approach came as a surprise, though what surprised Ikaros further was the familiar greeting that fell from Lucian’s lips at Lysander’s approach. This was all the vampire’s doing, clever bastard was cheeky. And horny, apparently. “No- don’t tell him anything!” Ikaros joked as he smiled fondly in Lysander’s direction and gestured to him with a half empty glass of wine. “He’ll use every bit of it against you, I promise.” The trickster mused further before he looked knowingly from Lucian to Lysander. “Join us.”  @luciankayames​

-

“I will do no such thing.” Lucian scoffs but he can’t help but smirk as he looks from Ikaros to Lysander and back again. He sort of thinks the other man gets how he operates. Kobalos seem to be deceptive by nature, if the two before him are anything to go by. Granted, Lysander had at least chastised him a little, told him that he’d shown him too much. Versus Ikaros showing him something incredibly extreme the first time they’d been alone together.

He sort of liked that though, the difference between them.

“So we’re talking technical immortality.” It’s a measured statement as he tries to piece every bit of information he has on what they are together as he sits up on his elbows and nods for Lysander to come sit. “Except you can die. So immortality, but there’s some wacky reincarnation bullshit, am I getting that right?” @lysanderxreis​

“Better for you?” Because it certainly wasn’t better for Violet. But she’s not the kind of person to twist the knife deeper, to make an argument with someone she cares about simply for the sake of her pride. That’s just petty and mean, and Lucian isn’t exactly sparring for a fight, anyhow. So she reigns herself back in, attempts to center herself and her emotions by taking a deep breath, her fingers running through Popcan’s soft fur as the kitten purrs on her lap. “I want to be in your life, Lu. I want you in mine. It doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.” She says quietly. It feels almost like a confession, like putting herself out there with the chance of being rejected. But she doesn’t know how to talk to him, not in the way they used to — before all these secrets and distance set in between them. “Yeah, he’s been around. He came to see me.” And maybe to ask her to go back with him, but he hasn’t, and there’s an immense amount of gratitude and relief that sits in Violet’s chest because of that. “We were always better off as friends. It was our parents that wanted us together.” The witch shakes her head lightly, letting out a light scoff. “Just another thing I did wrong in mom’s eyes. Not wanting to marry a man I knew I couldn’t love.” Not in that way. Not in a way that wouldn’t have made her life miserable.  

-

There’s so much he wants to say to her, when he really thinks about it. So much he wants to ask her, questions he doesn’t really want the answer to. He wants to know, rather selfishly, if Annette had lost her shit after he’d left. The last memories he has of her is seeing her sitting borderline catatonic in the front hallway on that stupid little bench that sat beneath where they all hung their keys. Staring at family photos, she’d hardly looked at him when he’d brushed past her, no doubt lost in wondering what the hell went wrong. Or if their dad was still...Well, he could maybe get into that, it was pertinent. “I guess we both aren’t going to wind up with people they approve of.” It’s a gentle jab, one that has Lucian giving a slight shake of his head. Jakob would have been a good match for her, and he had no doubt there’d have been some kind of potential suitor for him had he stuck around. “They didn’t find you another rich boy right away?” It’s a rhetorical question and he’s quick to reel back the sarcastic smirk, now wasn’t the time. “You’re out now though, can date whoever you want. Within reason, I refuse to stand to see you date some touristy fuck in khaki’s.” 

“Guess we’ll never have to worry then about being real competition for one another then, huh?” He lifted a brow, amused. His own patrons varied from the vampires that enjoyed Void, that blood-red soaked dance floor was a contrast to the disco balls that hung from the ceiling at the Embassy, bouncing light from surface to surface, reflecting off bare chests and high cheekbones that glistened with sweat and glitter. “Extra income and free advertising. Do you think that’s in that book of yours?” He gestured towards the textbook, lifting a shoulder. “Nah, I compelled an art school twink to make me something. Graphic design is his passion, but I liked how it turned out, huh? Fits the brand.”

-

“They’re different kinds of businesses. I’m very particular, I’ve frequented a lot of places like Void over the years.” Invested in their aesthetic, their patrons. Stupid, he’d been stupid and what Ikaros had told him when he was first turned kept with him. Why would Thanatos give him anything while he was so devoted to Persephone? This had been his own damn fault and he was now out to make the most of it. Lucian’s eyes take in his current location and ultimately, the place does feel a bit like somewhere in New York, perhaps down in Soho. “I wished I’d have gone to places like this earlier on in life.”

“Absolutely not,” Lysander made a face, though he wasn’t going to go into any detail about that. For now, though, he was looking back at Lucian with a hint of amusement. “You say that like I will share our memories with you – I’m only one half of them, Lucian. Isn’t what I say enough? I think it’s a talk you should have with Ikaros.” Despite that, Ikaros had mentioned monogamy and he idly felt like he should respect that with the vampire present. Had he disliked Lucian, he’d have intruded anyway. But he didn’t – the vampire held a mirth and sincerity about him that made Lysander put on the brakes. “What do you want to see? More orgies? You have pornhub for that.”

-

“You seem so quick to dismiss me and that’s fascinating.” To push whatever this is off on Ikaros and he gets it to an extent, he should be seeking out answers from his own partner. It has been a while since he truly annoyed someone, pressed buttons on purpose, and yet this is someone close to Ikaros, he can’t go making too much of a mess. His smirk fades to genuine curiosity and he finds himself giving Lysander another once over. “Something about you then, take Ikaros out of the equation. Where did you grow up?” And then he remembered the whole other life thing, or however the way Ikaros had described it. “In this...Current life.” 

“You gonna let me in? I just flew halfway around the world, least you can do is buy me a drink.” It was five o’clock somewhere, probably in the states, and Jackson was already craving a bourbon. “Terrorizing some otter from behind a blank profile, no doubt.” The witch smirked as he leaned against the doorframe. All things considered Lucian looked well-adjusted, comfortable even. Bit like Bella Swan maybe, being a vampire suited him in a way. 

-

“I thought I was the one who had to be invited in.” It’s a terrible joke, but he’s waited a hot minute to make it, it’s something Nixon would have appreciated. Lucian steps back to allow Jackson inside and the otter comment has him thinking back to the conspiracy corkboard back at his parents house. He wondered if they ever found it, if maybe Andrew himself had taken it down. He kind of hoped he did. “And I think he’s actually into other guys his own age. Or at least closer to it. Easier to sneak around, say they’re a work friend.” Leading the other man towards the bar, he slips behind it and grabs for a glass. “But how are you?” 

“I’m not a cousin,” he repeated, rubbing his jaw, “Please, we’re definitely not related.” Lysander wasn’t about to go into the details of what he and Ikaros had done throughout their many lives together, and he shook his head, “We all knew each other, Lucian. We’re all from the same place. There are no other kobaloi in the world besides us.” He idly wondered how much the other had said, so he didn’t want to give up too much information. “You should ask Ikaros. Really. I don’t want to tell you more than what he has – it’s none of my business.”

-

“Always figured it was just a figure of speech.” And it made sense now, he wondered if it was more of an inside joke. Lucian thinks Lysander is trying to withdraw a bit, which just makes him all the more suspicious. He’s more curious than anything though, this is something new and while it has nothing to do with vampires, he’s still intrigued. It’s magic of sorts, he figures, and even if he doesn’t have it anymore, he’s always going to be seeking knowledge about it. Whatever the hell Ikaros and Lysander can do, he wants to know more, and perhaps against his better judgement, wouldn’t mind seeing more. Resting an elbow on the bar and his chin in his hand, he completely bypasses the fact that the other man seems to want to change the subject. “You can’t just sit here and show me all this shit and then withdraw, feels a bit like sad foreplay.” 

“You sell yourself short.” Ikaros pointed out as slender fingers brushed the length of Lucian’s jaw, “I love both of you, I just wanted to tell you that and see if you’d be open to the possibility of the three of us-” He shrugged, a characteristic smirk on his features as he did. “spending some time together.” What happened beyond that, whether it was just sex or it did flourish into something more was grounds they didn’t really need to cross just yet. “I haven’t mentioned any of this to him yet, maybe he hates your guts.” Ikaros pointed out playfully as he poked the vampire playfully in the side before his tone turned a bit more serious. “Worst case scenario, we have a good time but decide that another dynamic won’t work. How’s that?”

-

“Spending time together sans clothes.” It’s a sarcastic statement, but he can’t help but smirk because it is just such an Ikaros thing to imply. There’s still alarm bells going off inside his head and yet, looking at Ikaros, shifting to lean against his side somewhat, he thinks it’ll be okay. While the other man seems hellbent on hedonism, he does think that he truly loves him. Lucian trusts him, more than he’s ever trusted anyone in a relationship and he’d nearly married someone who was taking bites out of him. If someone could stay with him after he’d died not once, not twice, well he should be giving that damn ring to Ikaros, he supposed. But they have time for that and they have time for Lysander and he turns his body just enough to be able to reach for the side of the other man’s face. Stormier hues bore into electric blues and in a moment of pure sap, he bumps his nose lightly to Ikaros’s before he’s pressing his lips to his. It’s brief, it has him leaning his forehead against his as his fingers move from his face, down the side of his neck, to rest on his shoulder. “I trust you.”

“Yeah, well, I think mom bought into it all hook, line and sinker.” Violet really isn’t in the mood to forgive their mother, or justify her actions by pinning it on how she was raised by her own mother. It’s true what they say that parenting is just a cycle of abuse, but that doesn’t mean that the wheel has to keep spinning. Lucian got out. Camille got out. Violet got out. Maybe she shouldn’t begrudge him that, the fact that he figured out first that getting out of dodge was the best thing he could do. But she had been young and alone, and left behind to deal with everything in his wake and it seemed like he never even thought to care about that at all. Like Violet was just another bad memory he was trying to suppress by running far away. And that is harder to forgive, even as the witch attempts to shove the feelings to the back of her mind and hide them there. Because she doesn’t want to be at odds with Lucian — what Violet wants more than anything, what she’s always wanted, is just to have her big brother back. 

“Couldn’t look back, huh,” she mutters, unable to hold his gaze so instead her eyes fall down to Popcan in her lap. “So I guess that means you couldn’t ever call? Or write? Send a postcard? Anything at all? Just a single sign, you know, that you thought of me once.” She doesn’t mean to sound bitter, but it’s leaking out of her chest like an open wound, permeating the air around them with a heaviness and sadness. Violet’s usually more in control of her powers, but they’re at their most unruly when her own emotions are heightened. “You know, the irony is, if you really wanted me to stay away. You should’ve told me you were here. How could I avoid something I didn’t know about in the first place?” 

-

“I thought it’d be better to just disappear.” He admits quietly, not bothering to hide his frown as he looks towards the floor. For a while there, he hadn’t even been sure if he was going to survive being out on his own, considering he got higher off the freedom of knowing he didn’t have to pull himself together for anyone after he stepped out that door than he did on any drug. But he thinks he survived on sheer spite alone and then that same spite had him eventually getting his shit together.

Lucian feels it, sitting there the familiar wave of her power and he’s surprised such a thing works now that he’s part of the legion of the undead and yet….His eyes narrow in almost playful suspicion in her direction. “I’m here now. As here as a dead guy can be, I mean. But I’m here and I don’t really plan on going anywhere.” His eyes fall on the cat in her lap again and he takes a deep breath purely for the drama of it. “Friends, people you care about. Jakob showed up at the bar a while ago looking for you. Told me that the whole thing between you was over.”