✿ THE HOUSE ✿
Adra's house is a cozy stone cottage on the outskirts of Caissa, close enough to the sea that one can hear the breaking waves throughout the day.
This afternoon, there's light, cool rain falling intermittently, tapping in a rhythm at the windows and roof. Fortunately, the kitchen is warm, bright, and welcoming. Its counters and tables are covered with freshly prepared foods of all kinds, and there are plenty of chairs for visitors who might like to sit and relax.
A door from the kitchen leads out into the garden, which is not quite yet fully landscaped, but which boasts a promising array of flowers (orchids, roses, lilies, tulips, etc) and herbs. Adra's also cultivating strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, and so on; the strawberries and cherries in particular are ripe for picking. Adra has strung enchanted, floating fairy lights all over the garden; they cast a soft, ethereal glow over the paths and carefully tended patches of greenery. At the garden's center, there's a clear pond filled with red and pink lotus blossoms.
Back inside, a visitor might like to rest in the den. There's a roaring fire in the hearth, and sitting near it for a short while offers a boost to the weary spirit. Soft, plush chairs and couches fill this room, making it ideal for lounging. The tables are covered with books borrowed somewhat indiscreetly from the library; they deal largely with the magic and history of Enprise.
Adjacent to the den is Adra's study. In here are half-empty bookshelves and antique rolling desk covered with neat stacks of papers, boxes of quills, and numerous pots of ink, each one in different, brilliant colors. His journal is somewhere here, too ...
Finally, down the hall one will find a half bathroom and, across from that, the door to the second bedroom--belonging to one Gilgamesh. The master bedroom, belonging to Adrasteius, is at the end of the hall. There's a full bath in there, but this room is definitively locked.
✿ THE SPREAD ✿
As usual, Adra's gone over the top in his preparations. For drinks, there's a sweet, refreshing punch; delicately pink and decorated with sprigs of flowers. There are pitchers of sparkling ice water, jugs of wine and spiced mead, and plenty of glasses to share.
Though Adra does not eat meat himself, he prepares it ably; there's a honey-glazed, roasted turkey in the center of the table, right beside a carving board heavy with seasoned, hand-carved slices of fresh beef. Red potatoes, bright with paprika and salt and glistening with pats of melting butter, are arranged in wedges around the turkey. There are woven baskets of steaming rolls, flaky and soft; platters of carrots and broccoli and asparagus; enormous bowls of belly-warming soup filled with thick wheat noodles, sliced egg, and shredded cabbage. At one end of the table, there's a plate of burgers, along with small dishes to fix them--bacon, crispy onions, sauteed mushrooms, and all the necessary condiments. He has plates of savory pies, filled with beef or pork or chicken; steamed and fried dumplings stuffed with meat and spring vegetables, plump and perfectly shaped.
The desserts are similarly extravagant: he has a plate of meticulously crafted flower and fruit cakes; some look like ripe, blushing peaches, others, he shaped into red orchids, lotus blossoms, or golden roses. He's made a chocolate tart so dark that its smooth, sugar-dusted surface shimmers reflectively in the overhead light. Cupcakes of all kinds are scattered here and there, as well as an extravagant, multi-tiered confection dripping with fudge sauce, encrusted with sliced strawberries and vibrantly colorful, fondant flower petals. There are loaves of warm banana bread; fruit tarts glittery with rainbow sugar crystals; and, under glass, an assortment of flavorful macarons baked to look like something plucked right from the starry sky.
But the most important thing about Adra's lavish banquet is this: all of the food is enchanted, laced with magic meant to inspire feelings of comfort and security. Eating it may conjure up familiar, welcome sensations or memories--nothing sorrowful or painful, and only as specific as you'd like. It could be something as simple as the feeling of a fuzzy blanket on a cold day, or as complex as a particular soothing memory. In all cases, the intended effect is meant to inspire calm and ease.
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no subject
[Gilgamesh will comply. He gets up; he backs away. He won't push for his presence where it clearly isn't wanted, not in this case. But his gaze remains hard, unyielding. Gilgamesh was stubborn, so much so that he frequently refused fault for his actions. But where was the fault in this? For the mere suggestion of something, that someone happened to follow up on, just because? How astronomically absurd.
How unfathomably ridiculous. Even if he went against his own principles, there wasn't anything to apologize for here. Not that Gilgamesh was willing to own up to, anyway.]
I know you to be stronger than this. You cannot fall apart whenever someone in this world accosts you, Adrasteius, you will run out of pieces to pick up.
[And he may be overstepping himself, but at this point, it must be said.]
You must work through it. You must overcome it. Or else you truly will live the rest of your life in fear.
no subject
It doesn't have one god damn thing to do with that!
[ He gestures to Gil, his eyes well and truly sparking now, little green embers of felfire hissing as they burn to nothing in the air. ]
It has to do with you, abandoning all pretense. It's you, knowing my weakness and deciding, consciously, to exploit it. And yes--I realize it's something I have to work through. That doesn't mean you get to take the information and use it for your entertainment.
[ He stands up, his stentorian voice a violent rumble, his anger making him seem beyond himself, taller and sharper. ]
If I had fallen apart, do you think I would have managed the rest of the day? Did you see me running off to hide in my room like a child? No! I'm not angry because it happened, you jackass. I'm angry because you purposefully invited it. Because you thought it'd be hilarious, I assume. A grand joke.
[ He slams his fist against the wall, and there's a surprising amount of force behind it. His expression is the darkest it's ever been. ]
Because that's what I am to you. I see, now. And you know what? That's fine. It's fine. But let's stop pretending otherwise.
no subject
I sought to tease you because I like you.
[There wasn't much more to it than that. Not really.]
Because you have my favor. If it was all some grand joke, as you say, would I stand here to convince you otherwise? Would I care enough to hear your concerns? Would I not brush them aside, would I not abandon you, would I not make good on all those promises you so dread?
[Gilgamesh steps forward to rest his fingers upon that fist, discouraging further violence. It didn't suit him at all. It doesn't scare him, but it does unsettle him. He derives no pleasure, seeing him so stressed. He appears as if he might explode, given further provocation.]
You have my love. You are my little sun. Look at me and tell me that I lie.
no subject
He breathes slowly, carefully, squeezing his eyes shut. He feels the anger drain from him, leaving him small again, soft and open and vulnerable to everything Gilgamesh is saying. He wants to resist it; to tell the other man to just go, to just live his own life and leave Adra out of it.
But he can't. Not with Gilgamesh. Not with the others like him, the ones who came before, who hurt him just as carelessly.
Adra looks at Gil, into the red, serpentine depths of his eyes. Was it true? Was anything kind he ever said really true?
He wants to believe in it, wants to believe he's something more than a cheap toy.
He murmurs. The long, golden curtain of his hair falls forward, obscuring his face. ]
You have my love, too, Gil. And damn the both of us for it, honestly.
no subject
I will leave you be, for now. And I will not ask after it again.
[Those are concessions he can make, easily. Because he believes Adra will come back. Adra will always come back.]
When you are amenable to affection, come to me. I will leave the light on each night, until very late, so you know that I am waiting.
[Until then, though... it's become obvious Adra has some prickliness to work through, to overcome, just as he said. Gilgamesh was a patient predator. Adra will come back and Adra will embrace his love as only the King of Heroes can give it. It is only a matter of time.]
no subject
He's fine. He's always fine.
Quietly. ]
Goodnight, Gilgamesh. Sleep well.
[ Light knows he won't. ]