rattlingthestars | IC Inbox

[ He thinks about it before shaking his head. ]

Nah. They just know me as a rambunctious rascal. I climbed up on this sign that hangs over town and did one hundred pull-ups on it.

[ Which is pretty impressive given the height. Zell is positively beaming at the liking it and that Zell likes him. ]

I like you, too. [ And he's finding he looks forward to waking up to find Jim there every morning. To be able to just reach out and touch him when he wants to. It's been pretty amazing. ]

Man, that must have been awesome. Being about to just jump any where in the universe. [ And he wonders for a moment if it's possible to jump between universes with it. ]

How did it work? How did you pick where to go?

Heh. Could't picture it.

[ Yep, Jim's teasing again. He can picture it perfectly clearly, the same way he can see Zell joining him in roof-climbing shenanigans. ]

The map was... [ Jim pauses, aware that he hasn't actually seen a hologram since he got here. ] Do you have holograms back home? Little light projections?

Guess you'll have to wait for me to show you in person.

[ He'll do a repeat performance and everything.

Nodding his head. ]

Yeah, we do. Not really common, but a few places have them. They are pretty cool.

Yeah. The map was like that - projected a map of the whole galaxy.

[ Jim sounds faint and distracted because he's currently trying to push away an image of Zell doing pull-ups shirtless and flushes. Then remembers he doesn't actually have to, anymore, because they're dating. This is a date.

With a shy grin, he asks: ]

Going to do it in your tank top?

[ Turning his body towards Jim as he gives a smile. Reaching over to poke him in a nose gently. The flushing is adorable, but he's not really sure why he's making that face. ]

It is easier that way. [ Then taking a little risk ] I can do it without a shirt, too. [ Not that it's anything new to Jim since they hooked up, while Zell was shirtless. Does that count as a question from Jim? ]

Man, though. A projected map of the whole galaxy sounds amazing. [ Probably much better than the hand made star projector he made. Laying back down flat on his back as he connects some of the stars with a finger ] How much loot was there in the center?

[ Nothing new - Jim had seen Zell bathing and training long before they started dating - but it doesn't make it any less interesting than it had been the first time Jim got to see. ]

A lot. More than anybody could ever spend. More than a hundred people could ever spend. What's in my bag is going to rebuild my whole house.

[ Jim's excited about that, sure, but he's also thinking about something else. He gives the skin of Zell's collarbone the lightest of pinches. ]

Would you do it shirtless if you had marks?

Whoa! Sounds like that would have been a sight.

[ He can't even begin to imagine it. More than a hundred could ever spend, and he's seen what people could spend and build.

Snagging the pinching culprit to bring to his mouth. Pressing a kiss against them. ]

Going to pinch me all over? [ Those kinds of marks? ]

Not really what I had in mind.

[ Jim lets himself be distracted, though, with Zell kissing his hand. ]

It was beautiful. So distracting that we didn't realize we'd set off the booby trap until too late.

[ Booby traps. He's reminded once more how fortunate he is that Jim actually lived through that whole thing. ]

What kind of booby trap and- [ Tugging up his own shirt to expose his stomach. ] what kind of marking did you have in mind?

A tripwire that set off an -

[ Jim bites his own lip and closes his eyes rather than stare. ]

- explosive -

[ Oh boy. He started this, it was his fault. ]

- in the planet's...

[ Try again later, Jim's lost his train of thought. ]

[ Uh oh. ~~He broke the boyfriend.~~ Looking at Jim curiously. The lip biting is distracting on it's own. Reaching over to place a hand on Jim's chest, brushing his thumb over where his heart is. ]

In the planet's? You okay, Stars?

Yep.

[ More than okay, but Jim's still reaching out a hand to pull Zell's top back down before he looks again. ]

-In the planet's core. It set off a chain reaction.

[ Don't like the stomach? Zell is looking down as Jim does it. Putting his own hand over Jim's to keep it in place. ]

Whoa. [ That's in response to the planet core. ] The whole thing was man made, huh? Man, just think of the work it would take to make your own planet. [ Or hollow one out to make it more machine. Rolling over partially to throw a leg over one of Jim's and rest his head on his shoulder. He's careful of certain places. ]

How long did it take until things went to hell?

It's not something just anybody could do in my world. Wish I knew who built them. [ Jim, too, can't imagine the kind of machines it must've taken to build something that massive and intricate.

Depending on how Zell throws himself, he can probably feel exactly what Jim thought of his abs. ]

Maybe fifteen minutes? Me and B.E.N. were trying to rig a boat to escape when we realized what was going on.

Maybe you'll figure it out. Wouldn't that be cool? [ Then he pauses. ] And being able to travel to any world.

[ His eyes widens as he thinks about it. They could visit each other. They could go on dates on each others' worlds.

He's not going to let on if he feels anything happy to have so close. ] Rigging a boat? [ ALSO TELL HIM ALL ABOUT BEN :D ]

-Any world?

[ Jim's catching onto the idea, and he's distracted from his story. Zell's gone way too long without having to answer any questions, anyway. ]

Mm. Where do you think you'd go, if you could?

[Whoops. Not that Zell really minds. ]

Your world. I have to meet your mom, right?

[ He has to make a good impression ~~so he can marry her son~~. And then thinking about it as lines the pads of his fingers up with each of Jim's. Pressing his palm against his as he smiles at the differences. ]

After that I think I would like to visit everyone we met here. Go visit their worlds and meet their friends.

There'd be so much to see.

[ Not necessarily visiting, but just the sheer idea of an unknowable number of universes spread out for the taking. ]

We could probably spend the rest of our lives wandering through them and never get bored.

[ He doesn't miss that we there. It actually feeds his excitement as he puts his arm across Jim's chest to plant his chin there. Beaming down at his ~~new body pillow~~Jim. ]

Could you just imagine? What if we went to Emmanellain and Haurchefant's world? It would be a world full of knights and stuff.

[ Which is pretty cool and something he does remember being into as a kid. Thinking about it, he decides to give Jim a freebie. ]

You know, we used to watch this movie in the orphanage.

[ Jim is an excellent body pillow, he doesn't even seem to mind Zell's chin being pointy. Instead he raises both eyebrows, urging Zell to go on. ]

Yeah? What was it about?

One of the good Sorceresses in history and her knight. Maaaan, I still can't believe the actor turned out to be Laguna.

[ He's shaking his head with a little smile. ]

It's one of the few things I can remember from then. We used to watch this movie all the time. There's this scene where the knight encounters a red dragon. It turns out that the dragon was frickin' real! It wandered on the set without the actors even knowing.

[ Jim is sitting up quickly enough to move the tent a little when hi head hits the top. ]

A dragon.

[ That's not even a question, it's just a statement. That statement sounds an awful lot like 'bullshit.' ]

[ Jim sitting up means Zell loses his pillow. Carefully sitting up himself as he tries to figure out what Jim means by that. ]

Yeah, a dragon. Do they exist where you're from? [ He knows in Zack's world they do. Also Haurchefant's world! ]

They're just fairytales.

[ Like Treasure Planet, actually. So- ]

At least, as far as I know. Dragons. [ The last of this is more Jim talking to himself than talking to Zell. ] Why is everything about you so cool?

[ The excitement is contagious. Reaching up to poke Jim in the nose as he grins. ]

That means you're cool, too. [ Since everything about Zell is cool, that covers his boyfriend. Right? ]

You have actually gone in space. [ Also took on pirates. That's super cool. ]

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