19th Contraption: Won the Home Game [Closed]

[pineapplesalmon]

Who: César Salazar, Johnny Summer, John Watson
What: César's been updated to the end of the series (End Games Part 2)
When: HUMP DAY (November 8th), right after an afternoon nap
Where: Room 102
Warnings: END SERIES SPOILERS Work stress with an evil boss; apocalypse subverted

César wakes up warm and comfortably in the arms of another.

It's a familiar embrace that's unfamiliar. A recent, distant experience. He knows this embrace that he's never known. César's tired but well-rested.

No. This body is definitely well-rested and well-fed. Healthy. That's unusual yet completely normal.

Memories and timelines jumble together in his head. The only way to figure this out is to start asking questions. Even if the first one comes out tired and groggy.

"... where am I?"

Comments

[lightconductor]

Watson brushes his fingers over César's temples. His appearance is alarming, but the last thing he wants to do is make this moment any more stressful or confusing than it is.

"I am not surprised by that," he says. "Take a moment, love. Take a deep breath. How long has it been?"

[pineapplesalmon]

The touch visibly brings a measure of calm to his expression. "You were right."

César closes his eyes and breathes in and out. "... a couple of months. It's like the memories were inserted."

His eyes flash back open, desperately reaching out to rest his hands firmly on Watson's shoulders. "John? We're here, right? The Serena Eterna."

[lightconductor]

"Of course I was right," Watson tsks gently. "It must have been an eventful few months."

He takes César's hands in his, a reassuring grip. "That is where we are, yes, though I'm not sure that's reassuring or not at the moment."

[pineapplesalmon]

César looks down at Watson's hands and swallows before he squeezes them back. Something in him softens as he shifts his grip just enough to fiddle with Watson's wedding ring. "... You're reassuring, at least."

Then, he leans forwards to try to lock lips. Look. If anything's going to physically ground him, it's going to be a kiss. That is something he's used to. Or was.

[lightconductor]

Ah, this makes sense. Watson cups César's cheek in his hand and kisses him, tender and familiar. It's a welcoming back after months away, even if from Watson's perspective it was nothing at all.

"Take your time," he murmurs in a soft rumble.

[pineapplesalmon]

César sinks into the familiar touch, the familiar lips. He's home. When he breaks off the kiss, he feels calmed enough to laugh softly.

"If you two have taught me anything, it's how to take time for me. For us."

He leans his cheek against Watson's hand and closes his eyes. "... Their plan to become gods was doomed from the start. Only Rex could use them after combination, and he used them to initiate a worldwide mass cure event before deactivating them."

[lightconductor]

Watson's touch is very calm, reassuring. He's only half understanding, but his understanding is not the important part. He recognises that.

"A cure? Truly? That's something astonishing."

[pineapplesalmon]

"Truly." César smiles and lets out a tired but pleased sigh. "I have the most amazing little brother. He's still an EVO. And there's still some EVOs left, but... a lot of them are cured, now."

He brings a hand up to cover Watson's hand. "... and the most amazing husbands. I can calm down because I know I'm in good hands."

[lightconductor]

He kisses César again, gently. "You are, at that. You look... love, you look tired, if you don't mind my saying so."

There's an invitation there, to collapse if need be.

[pineapplesalmon]

Ah, the gentle kiss settles César's heart more. He closes his eyes and rests his forehead against Watson's.

"Exhausted is more accurate. I overworked myself as bad as your Holmes. It's going to take some time to recover."

He leans back so he can look into Watson's eyes. "... I don't think I can sleep for a bit, but taking it easy is warranted."

[lightconductor]

"Why," Watson says, with a heavy sigh, "am I always drawn to men who have no sense of self-preservation? Well, lay yourself down, then, and make yourself comfortable. Do you want to tell me about it, or just be still?"

[pineapplesalmon]

César chuckles a bit and lays down right where he was, except now on his back. He holds out his arms for Watson.

"Let me cradle you for once while I tell you about it. I need to hold you. Touch you. Remind myself that you're real. And the feeling of another body atop mine will help ground me."

Dr John H Watson: a human weighted blanket.

[lightconductor]

"And here I thought I would be comforting you."

Unexpected, but not unwanted. Watson shifts a little, moving to rest his weight on César a little, with a sigh. "I am, at least, warm and alive."

[pineapplesalmon]

"I saved the world, and I'm loved. That's really all the comfort I need for the moment." César drapes his arms around Watson. "Have I told you how handsome you are?"

[lightconductor]

"Oh, not for at least," Watson makes a show of reaching for his watch, "an hour."

He chuckles, and leans back. Absently, he reaches to run his thumb over César's bare chin.

[pineapplesalmon]

A laugh. "Well, months for me. Time is weird."

César smiles indulgently to Watson. "... mm. It's been a while since you've seen me like this, too."

[lightconductor]

"Months. Goodness."

Watson lets his fingers linger on César's face for a moment. His eyes glitter with quiet mischief. "You must be terribly pent up."

[pineapplesalmon]

César gives a startled laugh, then chastises. "John! I need some time to adjust. ... like until tonight."

Watson's right, and César knows it.

[lightconductor]

"I thought I'd offer," Watson says, primly, but there's smothered laughter in his voice. "No, no, I'll be good."

He will be no such thing.

nsfw words lol

[pineapplesalmon]

"It would be very hard for me to recount what happened if you were sucking my cock." César retorts back.

[lightconductor]

"You're not interested in the challenge? Perhaps another time."

Watson settles himself comfortably on César and closes his eyes. "Please, I am listening."

[pineapplesalmon]

"I'll let you suck me off while I try to recite the periodic table sometime." César chuckles deep in his chest. "... I'm not sure where to begin. Other than things got worse between me and Rex before they got better. I even tried to explain things to him when we weren't being observed, but we kept getting interrupted."

[lightconductor]

"Oh, but you have more elements on the table than I do, and I'll never know if you miss one."

Watson takes one of César's hands in his, and starts stroking his fingers gently. "And I imagine that's a difficult thing to explain properly, too. That's not a quick conversation."

[pineapplesalmon]

"Then you'll have to try harder, won't you?" César's apparently already adjusted to sexy banter again.

But the hand being taken stops his brain for a moment, and he has to marvel at the soft gesture before he catches himself. "A-Ah. Right. Yes, it wasn't. And Rex always rose to anger at a moment's notice, his initial thoughts always going to the worst possibility." César closes his eyes and drops his head back down fully onto the pillow. "But he's sixteen, and I was working for someone evil. So he had to expect the worst. But in the end... Rex finally saw me. It was like he was really looking at me for the first time."