MCA #4, Tuesday Evening

[myownface]

Sparkle was frowning at his phone as he looked, not for the first time, at the text that Atton had sent him yesterday. It said, ever so helpfully, a nice, straightforward, NOT DEAD. Sparkle, being Sparkle, had texted back and equally straightforward, ASSHOLE. Because goddammit, Atton, you didn't have to fucking scare him like that, okay?

At least today he had a pretty good distraction all lined up. Company to cook for, which meant that he was at least somewhat distracted from his worry by things that needed to be chopped and simmered and actually watched, because like hell he was going to burn down the apartment the very first time he decided to cook something for Leto.

It wasn't anything super fancy. Not really. He was a decent cook but he was no Dr. Lecter or anything, after all. And honestly, he didn't trust himself enough tonight to try anything more complicated than a pasta dish. But spaghetti was hard to mess up, and chorizo made anything good. Mostly anything good. It definitely made spaghetti good, anyway.

He looked at his phone again and screwed up his face at it before he tucked it back into his pocket. Leto would probably be here soon, and there was sauce to stir.

[OOC: Expecting one!]

Comments

[myownface]

"Everyone."

It was such a simple answer, but there it was. His family had been a mess, had been an absolute disaster before he'd been taken away and put into foster care, but he'd had siblings. He'd had people he could look up to, and then he hadn't. And it had been so long ago he might not even know their faces to see them if he ran into them on the street in broad daylight, and he didn't think for a second that they'd know him, either. But for most of his life after then he'd been alone. Now that he wasn't, he was still trying to trust that it might even stay that way, this time.

[future_sandworm]

Simple and honest. "That is a lot to lose," Leto said. For a brief moment, before he pushed it away, his thoughts went to all the victims of his father's Jihad. 61 billion dead in twelve years, and of those who survived most had lost everything but their lives.

"I think that kind of loss never leaves you completely," he said, now thinking about his father. "But it doesn't determine the future." He kissed Sparkle lightly again, because he could think of no other way to offer comfort.

[myownface]

"Nah," Sparkle agreed, smiling a little again once the kiss had ended. "The future is wide-open. Even the stuff the island shows us usually changes, from one time to the next. I guess I'm just a little too used to looking back. The past doesn't change the future, but it does help build who you are when you get there."

And there, that was his weird little random bit of insight for the day.

[future_sandworm]

Leto returned that smile. "Yes, this place, and many other universes, offer the freedom of an unknown future," he said. "To not see that would be a loss too." With a small laugh, he added: "I'm glad I've met you. You're a surprise."

Spending time with Sparkle had now come to span the range from shameless flirting to sharing very personal things. Well, Sparkle had done the latter, Leto hadn't really.

[myownface]

"Well... then I really hope I never become predictable," Sparkle replied. "And... for what it's worth, I'm glad I met you, too."

Leto was a surprise too, though maybe not in quite the same way.

[future_sandworm]

Laughing, Leto leaned in to kiss Sparkle again, this time on the lips, in that way which was both soft and intense, and which hopefully wouldn't last until the noodles boiled over.

Sparkle never asked him questions beyond what he assumed he asked of other friends, Leto thought, which made it easy not to talk about the things that bothered him the most. He should do that eventually, although probably not today.