for whatsina_name

[travelerscurse]

It's so strange, being back.

Ishgard hasn't changed in hundreds of years, strange to think it would have changed since he'd been here last, but then, everywhere else he'd been has changed just in the time he's been there. So it's strange to be walking streets he knows from his childhood but with eyes that are so different.

Beside him, Emmanelain chatters on about the different facets of city life. He had made sure Haurchefant knew to petition his former family with as much discretion as possible. They, of course, had simply said their son had died and they were certain some fugitive from Uldah couldn't be him anyway. He hadn't expected any differently. He feels like that person is dead and he breathes on as someone wholly different anyway, but it's strange, to be being shown around the place he grew up in by a member of one of the High Houses, someone his parents would have killed for him to be friends with just a few short years earlier, as though he were a stranger to this place.

He has always been a stranger to this place.

Dressed in Gridanian fashion and tanned lightly by the sun, he doesn't expect there's anyone here who would recognize him. He'd been barely more than a ghost when he left, hardly a warrior of anything. But as they pass through the Jeweled Croizer and Emmanelain gets caught up talking to some girl he's been trying to woo, there's a sudden, strange sensation at the back of his head, something like and unlike the Echo, and he turns, eyes scanning the busy street for... something. Someone.

(For some reason, unbidden, he remembers the night of the Calamity, giant pieces of some other part of Eorzea raining from the sky..

Comments

[whatsina_name]

True to Gustavain's word, they don't really talk about it after that night, which Phillip does find himself to be grateful for. Not just because it makes the introductions to their eventually shared friend group considerably less awkward (with the exception of Y'shtola, but he quite likes her despite that), but because he certainly hasn't come up with a better answer since that first night even as his path of avoidance clearly is going to be less and less of an option, if this is the group he's going to find himself most attached to. He certainly hasn't gone as far as to pledge his support or even show up to any of Gus's battles; though, Tataru has found herself supplied with a new stream of information, and sometimes he makes himself scarce, practicing old skills he thought he'd never return to. Just in case.

As far as most anyone knows, however, he's still just a musician who's slightly more willing to run errands or be generally helpful and happens to be friends with some of the most powerful people in Eorzea, somehow. (True to his own world, Phillip has neglected to mention how he and the Warrior of Light came to know each other in the first place.)

Phillip makes his way up to the balcony, giving Rowena a casual wave as he goes- perhaps it's the lack of the strict hierarchy of Ishgard, that he's found it easier to get on people's good side here- moving towards Gustavain with a knowing smile as he spots the man. "How worried should I be?" he asks teasingly, though they both know he's absolutely game to go along with whatever this is.

[travelerscurse]

Gustavain grins at that in a way some people might describe as dangerous. There's a relaxation to his spine that suggests that there's a plan here. He still hasn't often participated in much in the way of public displays of affection, not with Phillip and not with anyone-- as long as one doesn't count ending up in various people's laps late in the night in taverns. That's always been a constant. But it's a bit surprising the way he leans in and kisses Phillip, brief but lush, all the same.

"Very worried," he says with that same grin when he pulls back. "Or maybe that's just me."

There might be a moment to consider how lightly isolated they are here. They're still very much in public, but they're a bit out and over to one side on the balcony, and there are some potted plants and things between them and the seating areas. There's just enough time to consider whether or not that's deliberate before Gustavain drops a small item into the palm of Phillip's hand.

It's of Allagan make, red with brilliant blue and gold lines along it, with a blue, slightly raised disc in the middle. It doesn't look much different from a lot of other things Rowena has for sale, a keycard maybe? A deprecated tomestone of some kind?

"Rowena owes me a few favors," he says, too casually, "and even so it was exorbitantly expensive. But I have a feeling it will be worth it."

That's all the explanation Phillip gets at the moment.

[whatsina_name]

The move does surprise Phillip, but there's still time for him to relax into and return it all the same before Gustavain pulls away again. It's perhaps that that makes him notice that they're relatively alone for once, at least as alone as they tend to get outside of a bedroom. He doesn't have time to do more than notice, certainly not enough time to wonder on why before there's something being pressed into his hand.

He takes a moment to look it over, a thumb running over the edges and the raised center. He's seen far more of Allagan design than most would expect of him (though Gustavain likely has an idea), but even so, many things are not obvious just by looking at them.

Once he's taken it in, he looks up at the elezen with an arched brow. "There are times where I can really see why you took so well to bard-dom," he says, his voice dry but an amused smirk barely hidden underneath it, "You really like building up the suspense."

[travelerscurse]

There's a strange tension that seems to run through Gustavain when Phillip traces his fingers over part of the device, like he's anticipating something. Phillip could be forgiven for thinking it was a prank-- the reaction isn't too far off from a slight wince one might make before someone opened a can of springing snakes, knowing the pop-and-jump was going to be a result. But then his fingers only brush against that raised blue dome in the center and all it does is glow softly at the touch, brightening and then fading after a moment only to repeat the process. It's almost soothing, hypnotic.

Beside him, Gustavain has sucked in a breath, hard, the moment his finger has brushed against the dome and his knuckles go white where his hand is gripped on the balcony. There's no other outward sign, however, that anything at all is amiss and a less acute observer even standing where Phillip was standing might miss what there was. Even his voice is even, calm and light,

"If you're going to want to play twenty questions, you're going to want to tap the dome in the center again first," there's that wicked grin again, the trouble grin, "But I'd rather you just figure it out on your own."

[whatsina_name]

Phillip may not always be as keyed into the physical realm as others, but he is observant and the sharp breath has him glancing up at the man next to him. Well, it's clear it does something other than glow. Which is good, otherwise this would be the most bizarrely useless pit of Allagan tech he'd ever seen.

"Is that so...?" he hums, blue eyes scanning over over Gustavain for a moment before his thumb finds the center again, holding it down for longer this time. He wants to make sure that first little shake wasn't a fluke.

[travelerscurse]

With a little bit of quick experimentation Phillip will find that a shorter contact with the dome either makes the glowing start or completely stop, but that he can use more prolonged contact with it and it doesn't seem to alter whether or not it glows. There's not another reaction quite as strong as the first as he figures that out, but Gustavain has gone quiet, watching him, which is more than enough to know something is definitely still up.

Fiddling around more with the device quickly shows him that while the dome itself doesn't move, it does seem to react to his touch-- running his finger clockwise or counterclockwise around the outer edge gives the appearance of a physical dial, increasing and decreasing the pulsing of the light and holding his finger sustained at the top or bottom edge changes the brightness.

There's mostly continued silence from Gustavain while he plays around with that, but depending on what he does with the found information there's other things to discover.

[whatsina_name]

While it would not entirely be past Gustavain to handle him something that did nothing while pretending it did, Phillip suspects that the level of interest he's showing in Phillip's every move would say that's not the case here. And it would be past him to hand Phillip somethings potentially dangerous without warning (or at least, dangerous to other people), so he doesn't have to worry about accidentally setting off any obscure Allagan weapon systems.

Which clearly means that the best way to figure out what he's doing is to just turn whatever this dial is controlling up to its max, if only for a few moments. Despite what that move may indicate, he still has no idea what he's holding- but he's pretty sure he's about to find out.

[travelerscurse]

Maybe not in exactly the way he's expecting.

If the dial were a switch instead, he'd have learned almost nothing. Maximum, where the light is pulsing bright and fast at once, likely would be something Gustavain could maintain his composure through, actually. But it's a dial and the changes are incremental and there's a combination somewhere bright-but-slightly-slower that Phillip moves through on the way that makes Gustavain curse and grip the balcony harder again, swaying on his feet this time. It's a much more pronounced reaction than the first one-- his eyes also flutter shut and it's clear he's having to work to keep his breathing normal (and he's failing, at that). It's also obvious that if Phillip leaves the dial right there, he can keep Gustavain like that, unlike the way he'd gasped but steadied himself before.

(If he keeps it there too long, he's going to melt Gustavain to the floor, but he definitely can't care much about that just at the moment.)

[whatsina_name]

Well that is certainly something. Phillip watches Gustavain for a long moment, blue eyes trailing over him in appreciation. "So it's like that, then?" he hums, as though he's solved a mildly amusing puzzle box even as his gaze stays focused.

He keeps the dial where it is for a long moment, seeming to try and figure out just how long Gus can take it before collapsing and switching to a different setting on the dial at what he deems the moment just before, this time the light at an uneven rhythm as he plays with the brightness, seeing what making that go brighter and dimmer does to the man.

[travelerscurse]

He'd have something smartassed to say but if he opens his mouth right now the whole balcony is going to know what's going on over here and he's not sure he could manage to string a sentence together anyway. His composure breaks before his knees give out. He manages to not make noise at all but the way he pants softly for air, the look on his face make it entirely too clear what's happening to him, pleasure to the point of incoherence. He shifts his hips once, subtle but clear enough, and then can't seem to stop and he's got a hand clamped over his own mouth a second later because if Phillip does that any longer--

He grabs almost violently for composure the moment Phillip has mercy, head swimming but able to force his spine back upright, a vibrant blush high on his cheeks and his eyes too bright but otherwise able to shove the moment before aside.

Relief is short-lived as Phillip continues to play around with the device, though this reaction is at least a little bit less pronounced. With mostly just the brighter light, whatever is happening is clearly distracting and clearly moreso whenever the light is on versus off. But it's less like he can't keep his feet and more like he can't keep his head, eyes going unfocused with each pulse of light the brighter it is. Perhaps a bit safer to toy around with that setting if there's overmuch attention on them for some reason, but it's also not clear with sustained higher levels of it if he would even remember where he was, much less that he had any reason to be quiet.

[whatsina_name]

Mercy is admittedly not high on Phillip's list of priorities at the moment, but he will at least give Gustavain a moment to collect himself. In the meantime, he'll shift his own position so he's next to him, leaning lightly against the rail and looking a bit more like they're just comfortably sharing space together. Of course, it's also a convenient position if it turns out the man needs something to lean on or press up against...

Of course, once he's securely nestled up against him, he's back to playing with the dial. He'll tamp down on the brightness a bit, to start, slowly ticking through the other options available to him, seeming to consider each one for a long moment before moving to the next. He hasn't hit back on the one that near made Gustavain collapse, but they both know he's not likely to avoid it for long.

[travelerscurse]

It doesn't seem like there are a whole lot of other options, just a wide gradient and infinite combinations between the two. It's clear now that the "dial" motion is something related to speed for sure and possibly also intensity of whatever is happening, but the up and down "button" seems to also affect intensity much more quickly and also seems to do... something else. It's hard to say what that is, exactly, but it's very clear there seems to be both a physical and magical component to the device. Gustavain almost seems to not even notice how close Phillip is, startles a bit when Phillip dials the brightness down and finds him moved, though it's clearly only surprise, not displeasure.

Gustavain can mostly recompose himself, at least enough that if they wanted to be somewhere less private and Phillip kept the settings low, he wouldn't give away the game, but he does absolutely refocus on Phillip next to him with soft, bedroom eyes.

"Something you should have been worried about after all, then?" it's a bit drawled, breathless, and a little incoherent, but it's words at least, which was better than he could have done a minute ago.

[whatsina_name]

Phillip laughs, reaching up to run his hand through Gustavain's hair before smoothing over the line of his jaw, thumb brushing against his lips. "Most of what you plan up worries me," he teases, though it's also very true and understandable given the amount of absolutely insanity the Warrior of Light inevitably finds himself drawn into to.

Still, those bigger concerns are not getting much attention at the moment, both of them likely much more inclined to focus on the present 'trouble.' He leaves the settings relatively manageable for now, fondly tracing the edges of the other's face. "I assume if you'd wanted to remain hidden we would have done this elsewhere?" Gustavain may or may not know about Phillip's ridiculous exhibitionist streak, but he's not terribly inclined to keep this so private if they're both alright with it.

[travelerscurse]

He leans into the touch in a way that he'd only normally do three ales in at a tavern, lips parting softly at the slide of Phillip's thumb against them. He doesn't know about Phillip's exhibitionist streak, but he knows about his own, which isn't so much a love of being seen so much as chasing the thrill of being caught.

Listen. Kill some primals and a couple of Ascians and then come talk to him about getting addicted to adrenaline.

"I thought we might have a light lunch and go shopping," he says entirely too lightly, grinning. He does sober just a bit a moment later, though it's only just enough to give the words gravity, not enough to break the mood, "I don't particularly want to make a mess of myself in the middle of Revenant's Toll, nor get a reputation for public lewdness, but I do want you to get me to beg before you let us go home. If there's a storage closet or a very quiet corner along the journey, I wouldn't protest," the grin deepens, but there's something wild behind it, a reminder that, as much as he hasn't said a word since that night about what Phillip really is, he hasn't forgotten, "I trust you know how to walk that line, or I wouldn't have given it to you. I'm well aware that if you truly wanted to fuck me in the middle of the square it would be the guards that stopped you at this point, not me. That one setting makes it impossible to protest anything."

[whatsina_name]

"If you mean that to discourage me from using it, you've picked the wrong tactic," Phillip replies, voice just as light as he savors how easily Gustavain moves with his touch, "But I am capable of being discreet when I feel the need."

They both know that. Gustavain has likely noticed by this point that Phillip near never directly lies, more prone to dodging questions or answering them only in part. And considering only Y'shtola seems aware that he is hiding something, he seems to do a fine job of it. Though given he's so outlandish in near ever other respect, perhaps that does some work in convincing people that he wouldn't bother hiding.

He pockets the device, though because he is actually a complete ass, he makes sure to flip it back to that one setting for a moment, long enough to shake Gustavain loose before returning it to the more neutral setting. "Lunch, then?" he says cheerfully, outwardly entirely unaffected- though again, Gus knows him well enough to know that's not at all the case.

[travelerscurse]

"I trust you," he says, simply, half a moment before he's gasping softly and melting against him, hands clinging to help him keep his feet.

"Careful with that one," he says, trying to regain his balance when Phillip stops again, "That's about as much as I can cover," it's a warning, but it's also a bit of ammunition and he knows it-- not just in terms of being able to use it in public or not, the level of power and trust here, but also the knowledge that if they were alone, the reaction would be even more spectacular.

"Lunch sounds lovely," his voice is still light and natural, but he's still a bit flushed and there's a looser roll to his hips when they start to walk that wouldn't be noticeable to anyone who didn't know him well. Still conversational, though not loud enough to really be overheard, he adds, "I'd be careful with turning the light too bright as well. Near as I can tell from testing it, it messes with your aether somewhat. Temporary, of course, but too much sustained intensity and I have a feeling I'll forget where I am entirely-- not particularly conducive to stealth. Given the third piece of matching tech, I presume that was fully the intention of the designer and not just an oversight."

He leaves that mystery open. Where the second piece of technology is seems fairly obvious at this point, but there's no third piece either in sight or implied.

[whatsina_name]

There's something that sparks in Phillip at that first comment, but after a moment he manages to brush it aside. He'll deal with... whatever that pesky feeling is later.

The mention of a third piece is at least a good distraction, and he arches his brows at the taller man as they walk. He's so torn about how long he should drag this whole affair out... "Good to know," he says, just as casually back before they find a spot at the cafe to settle down.

They're a bit more out of the way, but still very visible, which suits their purposes quite well. Phillip is not quite so cruel as to switch the settings on him when he's needing to speak with someone, but he's absolutely not above testing Gustavain's ability to cover when someone wanders by- though he doesn't take him back to that one particular setting when they are public facing.

[travelerscurse]

Gustavain seems almost alarmingly at ease with the whole thing. There's a sharp, audible gasp when he sits down at first, but he immediately makes a little wince and stretches his leg a bit, with an apologetic still bothering me a little bit at Phillip, but for their server. He loses the thread of conversation a few times, fingers tight on the edge of the table or once, resting over his mouth with his chin on his hand, looking for all the world like he's just watching the people come and go, contemplative. If somehow someone else were toying with him it would be obvious to Phillip that something was wrong, but there's no way anyone else would.

Still, he doesn't really manage to eat much, shows how hard he's having to work at calm in the way he can't quite manage to maneuver both his knife and his fork at the same time, the way he's unconsciously rubbing the tines of the fork against his tongue a bit more than normal, yet another thing that could easily be taken as him just eating slowly, but Phillip knows better.

The closest he comes to slipping up is one of the deeper, slower combos has him roll his hips exactly once before he can stop himself, the look on his face completely pornographic, before he grips the sides of the table and very clearly wrests himself back from the edge. It's clearly something that's more taken him off-guard rather than the one where he seems to half lose control of himself, because he coughs a moment later, loudly, and then takes a frantic sip of his water, like he's choked on something.

A glance around as soon as he regains himself and he manages to turn his voice bright, innocent,

"I don't think I'm quite ready to go home yet after food but... perhaps a detour?" Perhaps the previously aforementioned storage closet, he means. Or somewhere else alone.

[whatsina_name]

To anyone watching, it would appear as little more than two friends meeting over lunch. But like Phillip is the only one who could tell just how bothered Gustavain is, so is he the only one who would be able to notice anything off about Phillip. His entire body language is comprised of its usual, flamboyant motions temper with a casualness that could border on disrespectful to the wrong audience. His eyes are his primary, and often only, tell (which makes sense, given how much of his life he's spent behind a mask). There's a sharpness to them, a wicked sort of pleasure in the way they almost never leave Gustavain, and a deep hunger behind them. It's not just that he's the one that's in control of it, though he will readily admit that he enjoys that greatly. Knowing that they can do this and no one else knows, that only he knows enough to see what's happening and would even if he weren't the one with the controller... well. That does something for him too.

"I think I can make time for that," he replies smoothly, finishing off his own drink before rising, semi-jokingly offering a hand to help Gus up. Though, who knows, with the way he's playing with the dial, it might very well be needed.

There aren't actually a lot of truly private spaces in the Toll, but if they were looking for truly private they would just go back to one of their rooms. But for now, there's a small little shack where building supplies are kept that he pulls them into when he's sure no one's looking. "Will this do?" he hums, draping his arms lazily up towards the elezen's shoulders.

[travelerscurse]

He takes the offered hand with a grin that will seem like he's joking right back to anyone watching, but the grip on Phillip's hand is strong, and he drags his thumb against the skin, a tiny retaliation he's well prepared to "pay" for. Gustavain uses the momentum to slip right next to him, linking their arms in what looks like another kind of light, joking bit of camaraderie, but Phillip can feel how much of Gustavain's weight he's actually taking. He'll even out in a minute, but getting up and out of the restaurant has his knees shaking a bit. He manages to be jovial, talking about nothing at all.

Right up until he's being pulled inside and then he just melts against Phillip and kisses him dirty, a needy, soft whimper pulled out of him.

"Fury," he curses as soon as he pulls back even a little, "this was the best idea ever." Unless Phillip does anything to stop him, the next place he's melting is down to his knees, fingers caught on the waistband of Phillip's pants.

[whatsina_name]

Oh he is absolutely going to ‘pay’, a quick fiddle ramping up the brightness for a moment- it’s not as though him losing his head for a moment is as much of a problem when Phillip is half carrying him, after all. But any pretense is gone once they’re alone, pressing deep and hungry into the kiss even as he pulls back with a laugh.

“At some point I am going to want the full story,” he says, but he does not need the full particulars of how this came to attention among Rowena’s wares when he’s quite busy running his hands through that long hair as the elezen sinks down. He has no objections to this plan, though if Gustavain thinks he’s going to get any kind of reprieve he’s sorely mistaken.

[travelerscurse]

There's a definite moment where Phillip isn't just providing support, he's also providing direction when he bumps that brightness setting up as they walk, Gustavain trailing off for a moment on whatever they're talking about. Really, while the other setting is the more obvious thing, whatever that setting is, is definitely the one that's dangerous. And because Gustavain is who he is and Phillip is who he is, it's dangerous for more than just the two of them, really. The level of trust here cannot be overstated, or perhaps the level of not giving a shit, but he knows Gustavain too well for that. And yet, fraught as all of this probably ought to be, there's something about Gustavain that reads not just pleased or pleasured but delighted.

"Later... later..." he waves away the request as he works to get Phillip out of his pants, "Been wanting to do this since you first touched the damn button." He takes him hot and hungry, deep, straight from the start and after a moment shoves Phillip's hips back against the wall so he can set his own pace, finally able to give voice to the moans he's been holding back, now that he's properly muffled.

All things considered, how controlling Gustavain is about this is probably a surprise-- but then they both know if Phillip wants something different, he can have it.

[whatsina_name]

Phillip does not bother to respond, or perhaps he merely doesn't have time to as he's pressed up against the wall and taken down so quickly. He lets out a low hiss and tightens his fingers in the other's hair, clearly a way to just release the pressure inside of him than any indication of pain. He has no obvious way to muffle himself, after all.

Still, what might get more of Gustavain's attention and certainly what is more surprising is that Phillip doesn't push back against the control, lets him have it and seems to fall into it. As long as they've known each other, Phillip's never been particularly comfortable with vulnerability, possibly even less so since they've reconnected and Gustavain figured out what he was. He hasn't really been different, and it's possible it just hasn't come up, but there's definitely a moment where his hand slips from Gus's hair and laces into one of his. The trust between them, at least, doesn't run just one way.

[travelerscurse]

Most people might not be particularly interested in pursuit of that shift. After all, despite the mystery, there have been some clearly defined lines here about who's in control and depending on the person and the headspace, suddenly deciding that wasn't what was happening could be outright cruel at worst and at best simply mood breaking. But Gustavain isn't at all most people and he doesn't even so much as falter.

It does take him a minute to even really notice, however, desperate for this. There's an edge that needs to be dulled and his motions are almost frantic at first, needy and heedless of anything else. He startles when Phillip's fingers twine with his against Phillip's hip, looks up at him curiously without moving very far, pulls just far enough up to get a better, quizzical sort of look for a moment, but doesn't quite let him slip out of his mouth. And then something about his expression softens, abruptly, and the slide back down is slower, more measured, the moan that comes with it low and purring, like he's more savoring a treat than giving a frantic blow job in a supply closet.

[whatsina_name]

It becomes clear near immediately that Phillip hadn't really meant to do that, which is probably its own confusing and surprising thing. And it means that he doesn't entirely know what to do with the situation now that he's accidentally changed it. He's not quite embarrassed when Gustavain looks up at him, but there is a flush to him that isn't normally there. It's definitely not a look that he would be terribly used to, but he has seen it a few times before, mostly in their childhood in the rare occasions when he was unsure and almost shy but undeniably fond.

He gives the hand in his a little squeeze, half apology and half thanks, because he knows quite well that there are people who wouldn't want to deal with this from him, especially know what Gustavain knows. He'll let go of it after, hand moving back into the other's hair and threading through not as tightly as before, offering the chance to go back to the dynamic if that's more what he wants. Phillip... isn't sure what he wants, if he's honest.