IT'S YOUR DESTINY!!!

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Who: Anyone, everyone? Aoba and Declan to start.
What: Destiny
When: After the House of Wolves, before The Taken King.
Where: Earth, The Last City, The Tower and beyond.
Warnings: Could be sorta zombie stuff (Hive), could be xenophilia? I dunno. Gen warnings, yo.

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Earth. 700 years into the future, humanity is all but gone, huddled in a massive city in the mountains, surrounded by gargantuan walls and living in the shadow of the slumbering, perhaps dead, body of The Traveler. The massive being of benevolence and light that came to Earth bearing gifts of knowledge that would bring about the longest Golden Age in Terran history, hovering in geostationary orbit over The Last City of men, protecting what is left from The Darkness beyond with the remains of it's Light.

For those on Earth it is a well-known story. With The Traveler's dying breath it created Ghosts, fragments of living Light that in turn resurrected men and women across the galaxy, bringing to bear the Guardians, warriors to fight the Darkness. Earth and all the nearby planets are populated by humans, the Awoken, Exos and a variety of species of ever more distant origins, some less generous than others. The Guardians make their headquarters in a colossal spire at the edge of The Last City. There, in the Tower, the Vanguard and other factions of humanity work together to hold the line and fight the Darkness and every other threat to the known universe. The little understood Guardians rarely venture beyond the Tower, preferring the company of their brothers and sisters in arms, but all look to the Tower as a beacon of hope.

There is danger and adventure to be had; the likelihood of death and the possibility of rebirth. The future is uncertain, but all who walk in the Light know the Darkness is coming, and the wise life to the fullest.

[ Destiny Wiki ]

Comments

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…Don’t laugh at his priorities. Just don’t. And somehow, Desire managed—but it helped that he was Aoba, and not Desire alone. He still grinned, though, and his hand in Declan’s hair turned into an outright ruffling. “I’m flattered you’re still thinking about how naked I still am,” he couldn’t help. “I wasn’t. And I also don’t care enough to change it. I don’t have anything to hide from you, even when we’re not doing anything with it.”

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Wrinkling his nose slightly at the ruffling and leaning into it anyways, Declan shrugged it off. He was always thinking about Aoba. Him being naked just made him think very specifically about things. Looking around the room again and having an intense urge to clean, the Titan eventually shook it off and reached for the blankets instead, tugging them up to cover both of them as he maneuvered around to curl against Aoba once more, same as he'd been before it all started.

"...Did...Did I do alright, though?" he asked, low voice hardly above a whisper, asking the question he didn't want to. He didn't need the affirmation of his skill for his own ego; he needed it to salvage something, to know that even if the timing was poor and the execution was misguided, the act itself was satisfactory. If he couldn't please Aoba, what was the point in all of it?

[scrappyblue]

“I came, big guy. That’s your answer right there,” Desire answered, classy as always. But Aoba was something more tender, in the way he wriggled around enough until he was someplace he could loop an arm over Declan’s neck, putting ruffled hair in place with careful finger-combing. ‘Aftercare’ wasn’t a word in his vocabulary, linguistically speaking, but he instinctively understood it emotionally. Definitely more Reason than Desire, there, but Aoba was Aoba, ever more in flux. He kissed Declan’s chin, and the corner of his mouth. Sweet, gentle, and without excitement.

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The vernacular took him a moment, but he caught it, face flaming. Then his hair was smoothed ad his face kissed, and he didn't feel so bad anymore, turning his head and catching Aoba's lips in one of those gentle kisses, arm sliding around the other man's waist.

"Thank you for being mine," he murmured, brushing his nose over the other man's cheek lightly. "I might make a lot of mistakes, but waiting for you wasn't one."

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A couple moments into that nuzzle and after the words, that cheek went softly red in the dimmed lights of the bunk room. Aoba peeked up at Declan with hazel eyes, pulling his hands forward so that it was the Titan’s cheek and jawline that his fingers stroked across, matching his partner in the softness of the gesture.

“Thank you for…still accepting me, after everything,” he murmured softly in exchange. “I…remembered an old Japanese legend I thought of, in regards to the two of us. Have any of the things you’ve read about Japan covered traditional holidays? Specifically…Tanabata?”

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"They were mentioned, but I haven't had the chance to read much on the origins of the festivals. I was reading more historical books than theological ones," he answered, eyes closing as he let himself be soothed by Aoba's touches.

"Tell me?" The Titan was almost like a child there, seeking a bedtime story and warmth, curling his massive body around Aoba's.

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It was the kind of reaction Aoba had been hoping for, for Declan to be curious and interested. It fit with the things he liked to watch, at least, if not necessarily what he read. He wasn’t sure how much of a storyteller he could be, but…he was determined to try his best. “Well…it starts with Orihime, the daughter of the Sky King,” he began carefully, fingers remaining occupied with their idle movements between hair and cheek. “She was a weaver, and every day she sat at the banks of the Milky Way making cloth. It was her father’s favorite, so she worked really hard at it—so hard that she didn’t have any time for herself.” He wasn’t a very good storyteller, he thought. He didn’t know how to draw out the words or spell them into imaginative images. “She ended up getting really sad, because her work kept her isolated. She wanted the chance to meet someone and fall in love. The Sky King didn’t like seeing her unhappy, so he arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi, the cowherder. Orihime and Hikoboshi fell in love the moment they met, and got married a little while later. “They loved each other so much that they forgot to attend to their duties. Orihime didn’t weave any more, and Hikoboshi’s cows wandered off all across Heaven. The Sky King got mad at them, even though it had been his idea, and banished them to the opposite sides of the Milky Way. If they did the work that they were supposed to, he said, he would let them meet once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month. “The first year that they completed their work and tried to meet, they discovered that there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and spread their wings together, so that she could walk across their backs to Hikoboshi. They say that if it rains on Tanabata, the river will flood and it will be too dangerous for the magpies to make a bridge over, so…Tanabata is a day to wish for good weather, and for anything else you want to come true in the future.” It was a weak ending for a story, at least in Aoba’s mind, but he hesitated a bit before adding to it. His eyes were closed now and his fingers had slowly gone still, but they still rested against the side of Declan’s throat in the spot of warmth there. “…It’s like how we have space and time between us, right? N-Not that I expect it to be anything like a year before I come back, I mean. It’s just the story that I remembered.”

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"I don't think I'd make a very good princess," Declan murmured with a soft smirk, opening one eye to look at Aoba before raising a hand up to rest on the other man's shoulder across his body. Pulling slightly, he pressed a kiss to Aoba's temple, then nuzzled in, still careful not to snag any hair.

"You'd look very beautiful walking on a bridge of magpies, though. Regal," the Titan yawned. He knew what a Magpie was, what with picking up the bird book.

"That's not a very happy story, though. The father was very selfish and cruel...If the Traveler is my father...I don't think our story will end that way. Maybe we're Hades and Persephone..."

[scrappyblue]

Neither of them were princess material but…it wasn’t as if Aoba had a full repertoire of stories that involved two men rather than a man and a woman. Given that he’d already had the ‘as long as I’m not compared to a woman’ chat with Declan, he also didn’t feel like a joke was being made at his expense. It was a harmless bit of fun, though one that still had him spluttering softly at being called beautiful. ‘Regal’ wasn’t too bad, though. The kiss and the closer embrace made his heart do funny things that, in turn, made him feel better, too. Hades and Persephone…that rang a weird little bell, like maybe it had been in the book of myths he’d tried to read at the library. Emphasis on tried. “…Your turn to tell me a story?” he prompted softly.

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"Hm? Mm. Hades was...the god of the dead. Brother of Zeus and Poseidon. He lived alone in the underworld, ushering the souls of the deceased, generally feared and reviled by his kin and their extended lines. While Zeus and Poseidon were much beloved by man and god, no one liked Hades. His peers despised him, humans paid him lip service..." He shifted slightly, propping his head on a pillow and opening his eyes enough to watch Aoba while he spoke.

"He was, by all accounts, a respectable and noble god. He didn't get into the kinds of trouble other gods did. He took care of the dead, ruled over the places where all mortals go. He was called stern, but also just. People didn't like him because of his association with death, not because he wasn't good. He was also lonely."

"There was this goddess, Persephone - she was also called Kore and some other things - daughter of Demeter. Demeter is...sort of an All-Mother figure. Nature and fertility and the harvest. She's essentially Mother Nature, in a lot of respects, and Persephone was flowers and light and beautiful and pure. Everything Hades wasn't. He fell in love with her, watching her while suitors came and went. Some of the most powerful and beautiful of the gods came seeking Persephone's hand in marriage, like the god of war, Ares, and the god of music and prophecy, Apollo. Demeter turned them all away. None were good enough for her daughter, so Hades knew he wouldn't be. In his misery he told Zeus, the god of gods and his brother, of his love. Zeus arranged for them to meet. After that the telling of the story goes a lot of ways depending on the regional interpretation...but..."

"...Persephone went to the underworld, carried away by Hades, who promised her the world. He loved her deeply, and she did not turn him away as others did. Demeter was enraged and cursed the lands to winter until her daughter was returned to her, and Zeus convinced Hades to send Persephone home. Even though everyone disliked Hades a great deal, Zeus tried to help him and Helios, the sun god, told Demeter that Hades would be a good man for Persephone. But she didn't listen, of course. She wanted her daughter to have nothing to do with the loathsome Hades. But Hades gave Persephone food from the underworld. Pomegranate seeds. If anyone eats something from the underworld, they are forever bound to it, having to return there for a portion of the year. So...Persephone ate the seeds. Demeter tried to keep her away from Hades, but because of the seeds, she went back to him. Demeter curses the world with winter so long as Persephone doesn't come home, petulant and cruel and willing to kill mortals if she doesn't get her way. Persephone always eventually returns and Spring comes, but she sometimes spends longer months in the underworld with her husband."

"They may be separated for a time to appease others and to ensure humans don't die for their union, but they always come back together. Every year, for as long as they can."

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…Declan told a much better story than Aoba did, the man thought> Aoba’s eyes remained open just enough to show that he was still awake and listening the whole time, even if he was drifting closer and closer to sleep.

So okay, Declan’s offered myth did end more happily for the couple involved as far as their time together went, but after a little bit of thoughtfulness, Aoba chuckled drowsily. Declan didn’t agree with Orihime’s father as a stand-in for the Traveler…and no way did Demeter sound like Tae Seragaki.

“Granny would never hate you,” he murmured, in that slow manner that the soon-to-be-sleeping tended to. He didn’t think Declan really thought his Granny would disapprove of him, but given how the night had gone so far, Aoba was willing to expend the effort on reassuring even the things he didn’t think were serious.

Sleepy efforts, maybe, but efforts nonetheless.

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"Hm. I hope we can prove that, someday," the Titan yawned, lowering his head and closing his eyes, content to fall asleep there. He still felt uneasy, was still very upset with himself for ruining things (at least in his mind), but still being in the same bed together despite everything else? He could consider it a win.

"Mm...I think...you're better looking...than Persephone..." he mumbled, hardly able to complete the thought before he was doing that low, soft rumble of a snore. Too warm and comfortable to stay awake, really.

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Aoba wasn’t even sure what that compliment was supposed to mean, and sleepiness didn’t have much to do with it. Persephone was beautiful, presumably…and Aoba was still hesitant to appreciate being called beautiful, especially in comparison to a woman. ‘Better looking’ was arguably better, but…. Declan’s snoring had him popping one eye open, briefly, but it was a low and very steady sound. The drone of it was acclimatable, and after he’d closed his eye again and let drowsiness get its hooks in him again, he just about ceased to hear it at all. The background noise of the still-running movie was another mask of it, and even though the lights were only dim instead of dark, Aoba was perfectly capable of falling asleep in full light. He was out not long after Declan, and somewhere in the depths of his slumber, the thing he’d held on to Ren nights previously to prevent did indeed happen: he rolled onto his side and into the Guardian’s warmth, face tucked against faintly-shimmering collarbones as if he’d always known where that comfortable spot was.

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Quite alright since Declan was a clingy starfish himself. Strong arms welcomed Aoba in and wrapped securely, and long legs found their ways between Aoba's and over them, twisting their two bodies together. The naturally cool temperature of the ship meant their cozy little nook never became stifling, and it was - for Declan, at least - the best sleep ever had.

The next morning the Titan woke early as always, but found himself tucked into the back of the bunk against the wall and Aoba protectively wrapped between him and the blankets. There was no getting out of bed without waking the other man, and he didn't feel inclined to. Instead, he laid there for however long Aoba slept past him, be it minutes or hours, and watched. Pale eyes traced the lines of a face he deemed beautiful, even if Aoba disagreed, while fingers caressed whatever skin they were nearest, soothing himself into a state of half-sleep.

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The delicate sensations of touch, though soothing to Declan, were what drew Aoba into awareness earlier than he might have managed on his own. That being said, it was probably still the gentlest waking he’d ever been given in all his history of oversleeping. He did have one quiet startle, nothing more than an intake of breath that was a bit shorter than the ones before it, but after a moment of holding it Aoba sighed it back out. He didn’t think anything so cliché as ‘so it wasn’t a dream’, only had a moment of forgetfulness followed by remembrance. It was neither bad, nor regretful…even if it did bring color to his cheeks. “…morning,” he was still able to greet Declan, peeking up through his hair. However debatable ‘morning’ was when they weren’t local to Earth-time anymore.

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"Good morning," the Titan replied more formally, smiling faintly. His hands had stilled when Aoba started to rouse, waiting for the man to either show signs of alertness or go back into deeper sleep. When he knew which was which, he returned to his lazy touches.

"I was going to get up and fix us some tea and breakfast, but forgot we were on the Mariner, not in the apartment. It's alright though. I like watching you sleep." It may be creepy on anyone else...maybe still is...but Declan meant it in the sweetest possible way, surely. At least from his perspective.

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Declan was in luck. Aoba was guilty of the same crime and had never stopped to think it strange, and…it only made sense, anyway. Declan was stuck between him and the wall. It was impossible for him to get out without jostling Aoba in the process, so what else did he even have to do but…watch Aoba. “As long as you weren’t bored,” was Aoba’s vaguely-diplomatic answer in that regard, complete with a long yawn through the middle of it all. Only when it was done did he squirm experimentally, simultaneously discovering how tangled together they’d gotten as he was figuring out how to roll free and let Declan escape. Regardless of how Declan may have assisted in this particular endeavor, Aoba only got partway into his efforts before pausing, considering the Guardian with a touch more wakefulness. There was still blush in his cheeks, the shyness of a grand new thing still warring with what he knew he wanted, but the drop of his eyes to Declan’s full lips helped give away his intent before Aoba ducked back in to softly touch them with his own. Call it him wanting to be the one to give Declan something first, as much as anything else. In this case, a good morning kiss.

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He startled a bit, only because he'd been focusing on helping Aoba escape, but he didn't hesitate to return the kiss. Perhaps surprisingly, he made a soft, pleased sound into the kiss. Probably just still a bit too drowsy to silence himself in time. Whatever the case, he raised his topmost hand to gently cup the back of Aoba's neck, deepening the kiss just a moment before releasing him and smiling far more brightly.

"I can't think of anything better to start my day," Declan remarked softly, tongue darting across his lips, cheeks flushed a light lavender hue.

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Victory. Everything about Declan’s reaction was reinforcement to Aoba’s little moment of boldness. The sound, his touch, his smile…. “I think breakfast still sounds like a close second, though,” Aoba found himself answering with a flushed smile of his own, which although it wasn’t exactly his conscious intent, was nevertheless a roundabout way of agreeing that a good morning kiss was a pretty good thing. He finished turning about and easing free, then, sitting on the edge of the bed with a portion of blanket still pulled across his lap thanks to body-shyness. Aoba could try and claim it was because the air wasn’t as warm as he would have preferred it, but let’s be real. He just wasn’t confident enough to be completely unselfconscious of his own nudity. Or at least, the Reasonable side of him wasn’t. His nightclothes pants were a lot closer at hand than his underwear…eesh. Well, it wasn’t like he was getting dressed to leave the ship just yet. Aoba wrangled them close with his toes and set about pulling them on, along with the shirt that Declan had ended up relieving him of.

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"Mm...A distant second," Declan allowed, smiling genuinely, the expression firmly reaching his eyes, glittering there before he moved, pushing himself up and sliding from the bunk with a soft sigh. If he had to get out of bed, he may as well get to that breakfast. It would keep his mind from trying to drag him back to last night's failures.

Stopping to brush his teeth and comb his hair, doing all his usual morning rituals, Declan eventually wandered out of the room, only to have Ghost zoom into his face, looking him up and down with silent judgment. Unlike Ren, Ghost could have come through the door at any point, either via transmat or merely overriding the door controls, but he accepted the door was locked for a reason and may have been grateful for it finally getting to that point.

It didn't mean he had to be pleased about being locked out.

On the upside, he got to spend more time with Ren, talking about pretty much anything and everything with relative ease. If he was to be shut out of his Guardian's life, he could think of no better company. Still, like a worried mother he had to inspect his Guardian and see to it that their multi-hour separation - something that had never happened before - had no adverse effect. Finding Declan well, the Ghost huffed, spun around, and drifted off in a bit of a "mood" to go be with Ren instead.

"Rude." Was all the little construct muttered.

For his part, Declan bore it all with stoic grace before moving past to toast some bread, heat some eggs, and brew some tea, all while humming a few bars here and there from his favorite Disney movies.

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And Aoba, when he found himself left alone again—mostly due to the slower pace at which he moved when waking up—ended up getting completely dressed with all the proper layers, anyway. He followed through on morning rituals of his own, also at a more relaxed pace. In idle fashion, his thoughts wandered back to the stories they had exchanged the night before. It made for…less awkward imaginings than revisiting the more physical things that had happened, upon which Desire had more than enough commentary already. It was mostly praise and encouragement, which was so weirdly positive compared to what he was used to from his other side, that thinking about other things completely was almost a distraction tactic. He thought of the fairly stark nature of their surroundings aboard the Mariner compared to Mac’s ship and wondered…could something like brightly colored paper still be found in this day and age? Maybe he could substitute cloth instead…. And then his efforts at self-distraction only lasted as long as it took him to get out to the common area, anyway, to see the bare-chested Awoken moving around the little galley as domestically as you please. Unspoken things were well spoken, now. He had no regrets, but it was all uncharted territory from here on out. “…I’d ask if you’re putting pomegranate seeds in that,” he found himself joking, as he loitered out of the way, “But I wouldn’t even know what they look like.”

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"Tiny red fruits," Declan replied, looking up with one of those vague smiles. "I had to look it up when I read the story. I didn't know either. I thought it was something fictional, like ambrosia," he added, turning to set two hot mugs on the table next to two plates.

"I was thinking...you should see the Queen soon. I don't imagine she'll give you a lot of grief. She's probably just curious about the past and about you as a...planeswalker, was it? What Xur said. But while you see her I can finish things with Xur. I'd go with you but she didn't request my presence, and Uldren doesn't like Guardians, so I shouldn't get in the way."

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Aoba nodded, though some of the cheer went out of his face. “Yeah. Yesterday was, um…busy enough as it was, but I haven’t forgotten that request. Taking care of it today was the plan.” Stepping the rest of the way over, Aoba slipped into the chair he’d habitually started occupying as ‘his’ whenever a mealtime like this came around, but folded his arms on the table rather than reach for anything just yet. “I don’t know that I’ll have anything of interest to say, planeswalker or not, but I’ll do my best. I’ll take Ren with me and…would it be weird to hope she finds me pretty boring and sends me on my way soon enough?”

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"I don't think it would be all that weird, but then...I'm very bad in social situations and tend to want to get out of them quickly anyways, so I have a biased opinion," the guardian remarked with a lopsided smile and sheepish look.

"I like and trust the Queen, though. Give the conversation a chance. You may find her insightful. You may like her, yourself," he mused, eating his eggs on top of his toast. After chewing a bite and thinking to himself, he added a thought.

"The Awoken have a lot of human history stored away. A lot of everything that was "lost" in the Collapse is just held onto by the Awoken, studied by the Techeun. They may just be curious about how this all affects you and how you affect everything."

[scrappyblue]

…Was that supposed to sound intimidating? Because it did. Not in a threatening way, but…more of the stage fright way. A very different kind of stage fright than the sort he’d had about ‘confronting’ Declan, though. ‘How you affect everything’ were words that made him squirm. “You mean like…paradoxes? Like why I'm even a 'Chosen One' at all?”