A Timepiece in Twain

“With me, huh?” Lexi mumbled into his ear, sort of just softly pressing her face into the crook of his neck. She raised an eyebrow at Tiben’s follow up, though he couldn’t actually see her expression.

“I…if this is about the, um. State of your torso? I’ve already seen it. It doesn’t bother me. Things like that never have.” Which was true; she’d seen his, their, torso before. Totally on accident, but still.

“Anyways, I just. What do you like? Ph-physically, I mean. ‘Cause I. Don’t want to do something you don’t like.”

He’s a bit confused at all this discussion. “You want to talk?” he asks, genuinely curious. “About...me, this?” Totally unbroken ground here. He’s used to just barreling forward. 

Tiben’s eyes dart down at the mention of his torso. That was part of it, but...there were deeper issues here. If he was more worldly, Tiben would call it a kind of dysmorphia. But, he doesn’t want to think about that right now. Or ever, really. “What do I like?” he parroted. He grinned a bit. Since Ples was a bit vanilla and prudish, most people expected Tiben to be perverted. Oh, certainly, he’s done perverted things, but...it’s not always his preference. 

tiktiktikboom:

Tiben briefly thought about just taking his giant hand and putting it on Lexi’s face, just to be a butt, but he decided against it. He blinked slowly a few times and sat up, looking Lexi up and down as if to evaluate just how he should go about doing this.

He wedged a knee in between her legs, put a hand on her hip, and slowly laid back down, tugging her close and holding her tight. Much closer now.

Lexi turned beet red and let out a little squeak, not entirely expecting Tiben’s little ‘rearrangement’ of limbs. Well that was one way to answer her question.

Heart pounding in her ears, Lexi brushed her lips over his jawline and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Is this okay? I mean…do you like this? Kissing?”

Tiben gently pulled his glasses off. They were pushing into his face and Lexi was close enough right now anyway. 

((I have dim memories of the URL...

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tiktiktikboom:

lexi-shapiro:

For a while, the only sound in the room was the ever constant ticking that came from Tiben. But something tugged on Lexi’s mind and she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

“Umm, Tibs?”

“Mmm?” he replied, shifting his head up.

“You know you can, erm, touch me. Like, I mean, you’re allowed.”

Tiben briefly thought about just taking his giant hand and putting it on Lexi’s face, just to be a butt, but he decided against it. He blinked slowly a few times and sat up, looking Lexi up and down as if to evaluate just how he should go about doing this.

DID.

YOU.

EAT.

MY.

tiktiktikboom:

lexi-shapiro:

tiktiktikboom:

But that’s pretty much all he’s ever really wanted to do: keep something of his own. Tiben leans his full weight on to her. He’s done talking for a while. He’s safe and here. For now, at least.

As strong as Lexi was, Tiben was still pretty heavy. With his full weight against her, she fell back against the bed with a little thud. Ah well. More room to cling.

She kissed the top of his head, quiet. No more talking was fine by Lexi. They both needed a little break.

Tiben let out a deep sigh and just…got comfy where he was.

For a while, the only sound in the room was the ever constant ticking that came from Tiben. But something tugged on Lexi’s mind and she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

“Umm, Tibs?”

tiktiktikboom:

But that’s pretty much all he’s ever really wanted to do: keep something of his own. Tiben leans his full weight on to her. He’s done talking for a while. He’s safe and here. For now, at least.

As strong as Lexi was, Tiben was still pretty heavy. With his full weight against her, she fell back against the bed with a little thud. Ah well. More room to cling.

She kissed the top of his head, quiet. No more talking was fine by Lexi. They both needed a little break.

Lexi’s eyes went wide when Tiben took her face in his hands. Her chest felt close to bursting from the strain of trying to find enough air to say everything she wanted to say, everything she needed him to hear. Words would never be enough to convey what Lexi felt, how she was feeling right at this moment. When she finally managed to get herself breathing, she filled each syllable with as much heart as she could.

“Tiben. It’s enough. This is enough. You’re enough. All of you. Whatever you are. Everything you are.”

She shivered as Tiben pressed against her neck, burying her face into his hair and curling her fingers around the nape of his neck as his limbs encompassed her. “I’ll stay. I’ll stay, so. So keep me. I need you so pleasepleaseplease. Keep me.”

tiktiktikboom:

He’s obviously flustered, but it’s in a quiet and tight manner - the opposite of Ples’ behavior when he gets overwhelmed. Tiben’s chin is pulled back towards his neck, his fingers shake, he’s a little huffy in his breathing, and he’s looking down. He doesn’t know what to do. He knows what he wants to do. His strange eyes flick open, and Tiben does his best to hold eye contact, but the golden irises swivel this way and that.

There have been several times when they, the men, who inhabit this strange body have undergone very specific death. The spring stops. The gears grind. The ticking goes silent. It comes from hard falls, or something just pushing past the surgical stitches and false skin and pulling at the insides. It’s almost, technically, an organ removal, but overall, something more like a chip off a jar, or a porcelain figure.

Lexi has the power to shatter him right now with little more than a gentle caress.

Tiben’s eyes swipe up and keep still. He’s tense.

Any relief that Lexi felt in seeing those golden eyes was cut short by how Tiben simply couldn’t look at her for more than a few moments. Lexi dropped her hands away from his face, no longer trying to get Tiben to look at her. If he couldn’t, he couldn’t. His emotional limits seemed to have been reached. And that was okay.

Was it though? Lexi was fragile, liable to break. How long had she been running around this? How many times had she told herself how wrong and fucked up her feelings were? It wasn’t okay. It wasn’t enough. Something had to give. Someone had to give.

“Tell me what you want. No, you don’t even need to say it. Just do it. It doesn’t matter what it is. Whatever it is you want, whatever it is you’re feeling. I’ll accept it.”

Tiben thinks he wants too much and too little at the same time. His own body, for one. “Alexandria-” he starts. Holy shit, he’s never experienced so much in so few minutes. he’s scared, embarrassed, ashamed, elated, afraid, proud, who knows what all else? He makes a real effort now to just...chill out, stay calm, it’s him and his bestgoodfriend Red. He reaches out and puts his large hands in either side of her face, holding her still. He speaks tenderly. “I want you t-to, be a-all right...in all of this. Me...whatever I am-” Tiben winces. He’s trying here, really, it’s just...he really doesn’t have the vocabulary for this. 

    Prince smiles at the compliment and straightens proudly in his seat,“You do too. You’ve even kept all of my letters to remember, haven’t you?”

    He finishes his cocoa and slides out of his chair, extending a hand for the old man to take, unaware of the old man’s discomforts on such touches.“I feel like I lose a lot of story if I can’t understand it myself, would you mind helping me make them clearer?” the proposal is vague and abstract, what he means is to learn from the stories the letters he’d found before. There were some that told of stories he’s explained to another man in his past, but past those letters, there was more to the pile. More stories that the Little Prince was eager to learn about and decipher, but those were stories he couldn’t figure out on his own.

    No, judging by their home and how carefully preserved they were, it was clear that they were Ples’ stories as well. Both of them needed to remember. Maybe they couldn’t catch every detail, but it would be enough if they managed to unravel memories they might have lost together.

“Yes!” Ples replies excitedly. “I d-do, I did! I. Ah.” He calms down a bit. “Um, I have-” he taps his temple, “um, memory issues.” Ples frowns a bit and rubs at his eye, knocking his glasses slightly askew. “It’s not, perhaps, a good habit to keep a lot of...things,” he continues, thinking of his messy office (and ignoring the scores of antiques, not just clocks, all over the house), “but...I think...exceptions can be made. Under certain circumstances.” 

tiktiktikboom:

Tiben huffed a bit at his knuckles being kissed. It seemed…like something that you would do with a more vulnerable party, and Tiben hates feeling weak. Hates admitting that he feels weak when Lexi is around because he is. He screws his eyes shut, good and tight, and makes something akin to what most people call “whiskey face,” like something was causing him physical pain. “I’m so sorry,” he whispers for some reason. He brought a hand up and cradled the back of Lexi’s head to keep it settled against his. 

It was a bit difficult for Lexi to get a look at Tiben’s face, what with their foreheads pressed together. But she managed to tilt her head just enough to see his expression.

“Sorry for what? Hey, Tibs. Come on. Open your eyes and look at me.” Her hands trembled slightly, wanting to see his eyes. Golden eyes, not blue.

“Tiben, please look at me.”

He’s obviously flustered, but it’s in a quiet and tight manner - the opposite of Ples’ behavior when he gets overwhelmed. Tiben’s chin is pulled back towards his neck, his fingers shake, he’s a little huffy in his breathing, and he’s looking down. He doesn’t know what to do. He knows what he wants to do. His strange eyes flick open, and Tiben does his best to hold eye contact, but the golden irises swivel this way and that.

There have been several times when they, the men, who inhabit this strange body have undergone very specific death. The spring stops. The gears grind. The ticking goes silent. It comes from hard falls, or something just pushing past the surgical stitches and false skin and pulling at the insides. It’s almost, technically, an organ removal, but overall, something more like a chip off a jar, or a porcelain figure.

Lexi has the power to shatter him right now with little more than a gentle caress.

Tiben’s nervousness and panic was practically palpable. Lexi could feel him shaking; he was trying so hard to be honest, to be open. She couldn’t fault him for not being able to say it, especially when she hadn’t technically said it either.

“I know.” Lexi whispered under her breath after he’d kissed her. She took his hands in hers and gently eased them out of her hair, bringing them to her lips for a brief kiss to his knuckles.

“I know how you feel.” She let go of his hands and gently cupped his face, pressing her forehead to his. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

The quiet wasn’t unexpected. Lexi had never been this honest with Tiben before, and honestly couldn’t have expected more than silence from his end.

She didn’t mind, though. You’d think she would, given how their relationship had began. Teasing gone too far, more malicious that anything else. Cruel words, purposely hurtful actions. In the beginning, Lexi hadn’t exactly been fond of him. Yet she kept coming back.

What started as a collection of back and forth arguments slowly changed into a tentative friendship. Despite everything that Tiben was (and wasn’t), he had noticed her two-year absence. He had missed her as much as his poor memory could allow. Somewhere along the way, Lexi had come to trust Tiben. She could tell him things without harsh judgement, she could be weak in front of him without getting lectured. He became a good friend.

Lexi wasn’t entirely sure when her feelings started to shift. Maybe it was when Tiben first kissed her on Halloween. Maybe it was when she was turned into a vampire. She wasn’t sure. But after more than a year of nothing but nights, Lexi had come to care deeply for Tiben. Deeply enough for her feelings to turn to love.

Tiben finally broke the silence with a small utterance of her name. He sounded nervous. Scared. Lexi pressed close to his side, wrapping her arms around his waist as he fully embraced her.

“You don’t have to say anything, not unless want to. But you can, if you want to. You don’t have to worry. It’s just me.”

Tiben snuffles in her hair a bit. “No, I do. I...” Just can’t? He’s shaking a bit, the magnitude of the reality of the situation is settling in and he’s really doing his best to keep calm. “You don’t know?” he asks quietly. He might be afraid to say it out loud, but Tiben’s never been particularly shy about inviting himself into personal space bubbles. He puts his fingers under her chin and tips her head up so he can kiss her.

It’s a Tiben-trademarked kiss so...he’s not very practiced. It’s surface-level in a sense. He has had many sexual encounters, but none that really mattered, none that required anything mutual, so he’s really restraining himself to what he knows is generally acceptable. Light, maybe a bit dry, but it lasts longer than just a simple peck.

He’s trying. 

tiktiktikboom:

He side-eyes her a bit. “Mmnnnnn, that doesn’t corroborate. I’m rather certain it is quite thick.” The side-eye ended and was replaced by something much softer, but no less manic. His eyes swiveled this way and that as he seated himself. He’d by lying if he said he wasn’t low-key panicking. This was…serious. 

Tiben’s strong point was not taking anything seriously. Not the opposite of that.

He knitted his browse and listened. And felt. Lexi is warm and alive and enviably organic. Tiben purses his lips and nods his confirmation at Lexi’s query.

Lexi could see how difficult this was for Tiben to process. He wasn’t mature or experienced enough for something this serious. It’s why she hesitated, why she had so often told him ‘never mind’ or ‘forget it’. So she was gentle, as much as she could be.

“That’s because of you. Because when I’m with you, I feel…happy. You make me feel important. You make me feel…l-lov…” Lexi let go of Tiben’s hand and pressed her forehead against his shoulder, closing her eyes and mustering up her courage.

“You make me feel loved. But I don’t know if…if it’s just me.”

When she leans forward, Tiben wraps a hand and arm around her shoulder, trying to support or soothe, whatever she needs. He doesn’t know what to do at first and, miraculously, decides to stick to doing nothing for now. He’s trying to think.

Tiben doesn’t really have relationships of any kind outside of Ples.

tiktiktikboom:

Tiben gently rubbed Lexi’s back and did his best to listen and comprehend. It didn’t go great, but he’s trying. There’s something that he’s obviously missing, and it’s making him feel dumb, which makes him get defensive. He doesn’t want to be aggressive or upset just now - Lexi’s here! - so…

So.

He’s going to try…something.

“I’m not a mind-reader, either,” he says as quietly as he can. “So, h-help me out here, Red. If everything isn’t all right…just. Just tell me. Get it through my thick skull.”

“Oh, Tibs. You’re not…you don’t have a thick skull. If I don’t say anything, you won’t get it. Just…you don’t have to say anything back, okay? Only if you want to.”

Lexi pulled away and took his hand, guiding him over to the edge of the bed so they could sit down. She looked at him, keeping hold of his hand and placing it on her chest.

“Can you feel that? How hard and fast my heart’s beating?”

He side-eyes her a bit. “Mmnnnnn, that doesn’t corroborate. I’m rather certain it is quite thick.” The side-eye ended and was replaced by something much softer, but no less manic. His eyes swiveled this way and that as he seated himself. He’d by lying if he said he wasn’t low-key panicking. This was...serious. 

Tiben’s strong point was not taking anything seriously. Not the opposite of that.