they built paradise

[goldtoxicity]

WHO: Joshua Foley and YOU!
WHERE: Krakoa
WHEN: ~2019 and back
WHAT: Backdated events! Before his kidnapping.
WARNINGS: nsfw here and there!

OPEN PROMPTS.

a diplomatic visit. ~ two years ago

[ this is a necessary evil. if they want to maintain their independence then they need to be non-threatening, or at least enough of an asset that allies are willing to let them be in exchange for a few favors.

no wonder scott summers lost his mind. his life is nothing but moving parts now. so little is stable and nothing feels certain - this empire is built on sand and the slightest rumble will make it fall. all of this has given him newfound respect for the mutants who had come before him, understanding them in a way he never could have back home... but still with the determination not to repeat their mistakes. if sacrifices are to be made, he intends for them to be his.

and it doesn't leave a lot of time for himself - not when he feels like he's promising parts of his soul to people, and sacrificing what's left to maintain the balance. he's tired twenty-four seven.

and it only worsens when someone docks at their harbor. he could leave this to the rest of the council, but he's always found it better to be the first one to greet a new arrival. lest they decide to try to turn the five into a four. ]

So glad you could make it, [ he says, hoping it sounds genuine. golden hands clasp the outstretched hand, his lips curved into a smile. ] Krakoa welcomes you.

beach day. ~ a year and a half ago

[ keeping krakoa running is a full time job. most of the population is too young to really care for themselves. joshua foley has gone from a largely irresponsible mess to - well, still a mess, but a mess with a ton of responsibilities. david's technology keeps him tapped into almost the entire population of the island and their health.

but sometimes? sometimes he needs none of that. he needs quiet.

the beaches are quiet during school hours. josh is sprawled out on the sand in a pair of black swim trunks, one arm folded behind his head, his eyes shut behind a pair of stylish sunglasses. when the shadow falls across his face he groans low and turns away. ]

Oh come on. I know nobody is dead or dying. [ he pushes the glasses up his face. ] Today is me time. Did we not establish this was me time?

stress. ~ a year ago

[ he doesn't remember what set him off. an article, maybe. something small to feed into growing paranoia. realizing that there's yet another person now on krakoa that shouldn't be. something small, something that he can't catch, and he knows there's no point in having that fight because they've had that fight and he can't justify it.

and so his office is in shambles. his fingers tangled in his hair, eyes clenched shut as he breathes hard. ]

Fuck!

[ he sinks slowly down the wall, gritting his teeth. he hears the door open. ]

Not the time!

WILDCARD.

[ hit me up at minimoffs @ plurk or shoot me a dm if you'd like to plan something specific or something off krakoa! ]

Comments

[goldtoxicity]

You got it.

[ his whole body is weird. but his head is already tilting against the pillow, ready to drift off at a moment's notice. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

Sleep well, love. Please.

[For all their sakes. The island was shaken with Josh's return. But once it looks like Josh is actually going to sleep David closes his eyes and lets his mind dive back into the technology around them while his body rests. It's the best he can do.]

[goldtoxicity]

[ he's practically comatose when he finally slips into slumber. david's seen this before, of course. just like any other time josh's powers have been pushed him to the brink. his vitals are stable and steady, improving slowly, though he's almost completely unresponsive to any stimuli. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

[He has. Way too many times in his life he has seen this. But this time he intends to be the last. Forever. Whatever it takes.

David rests for a few hours and slips out only long enough for food and other necessities before returning to start switching out IV lines. So thin, he thinks. Josh is so damn thin. Going to kill Stark for this.]

[goldtoxicity]

[ josh seems to turn ever so slightly towards whatever direction david is in, as if trying to bridge the gap. afraid to be alone.

he's asleep for sixteen hours. utterly dead to the world, still save for the slow rise and fall of his chest.

of course when he finally wakes, its far from peaceful. he lurches to awareness in terror, uncertain of where he is or how he got there. almost convinced that this is a dream, another cruel trick of his desperate mind trying to convince him he's saved. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

[Sixteen hours seems like so little. But hey, somewhere in that time David got a whole seven for himself, and food, and even briefed the other members of the council, though only after he left a careful watch on his ex.

The timing is still good enough that David's in the room, 'talking' quietly to monitors when Josh suddenly comes awake. He curses briefly and instructs one machine to push some morphine. It's not something he does because he expects the man is in pain. It's because he knows Josh is disoriented, and with his powers back at his disposal, it would be simple for Josh to accidentally go lead and lash out.

Unless his body was trying to burn off something it saw as potentially harmful. Thus the morphine as David tied to move into Josh's line of sight.]

Josh. Love. It's okay. You're home. You're safe and you're home and no one here will hurt you.

[goldtoxicity]

[ it's a good call. his body is still too out of it to burn off the rush of opiods. his teeth clench and his hands grab for the IVs, convinced in his half-waking state that this is another horrific trap. some crazy new form of torture of experiment.

at least until he sees david.

then he's frozen, letting the medicine do its work. he stares at david with wide eyes. ]

Tell me you're real.

[helpdesk_hero]

[The question is enough for David to tell the machines they can let up. Meanwhile he sits lightly on the edge of the bed and offers Josh the softest smile he can. Oh, he's real alright. but how does he prove it?

The answer is obvious and even he wants to groan over saying the word. It's... it's like stealing something from the past that he has no right to. But he reaches out, hand on Josh's cheek.]

I'm implanting a tracking chip in you, Snickerdoodle. I can't survive you going missing on me again.

[goldtoxicity]

[ he leans into the touch, desperate and nearly drunk on it. david's voice - that stupid term of endearment - earns a weak laugh, which tumbles into a sob. ]

I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have gone.

[helpdesk_hero]

[No. No don't cry. He can't handle it. The sob earns David's arms around Josh, holding him tightly.]

No. No you did what you did for a reason. I don't know what it is. But, Josh, I... I'm sorry. If it was my fault you left I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, or drive you away. I looked. I was looking the whole time. But Stark, he...

[Stark and Alleyne, the two great technopaths of White Tower, or they had been once. And pushing past each other was so damn hard.]

[goldtoxicity]

[ as a rule, josh doesn't cry. he sheds a few tears and tries to funnel that emotion into something like this.

he's only cried like this in front of david twice before.

once, the day their childhood ended. when he'd stumbled through the door of their shared room, his palms caked in in DJ Shepherd's dried blood.

and again, covered in laurie collins blood. pleading with her still form to come back.

its a while before he can compose himself. his fingers clench david's shirt. ]

I was going to see Joseph. [ his voice shakes. ] I just needed space, for a little while, it wasn't... I was suffocating. It wasn't supposed to...

[helpdesk_hero]

I know.

[David hates how the knowledge cut at him. Had always cut at him. But when you're involved with a technopath you're always going have the chance of them reaching out, just to check in. And... Losing some secrets along the way.]

I know, love. You care about him. But he isn't our friend. He isn't our alley. Stark had you, and no matter what he told me, he had to know. He let you suffer like that.

[David had never been a fan of Kavinksy. Could never be so. Won't he be surprised when he finally touches the collar at Josh's neck and finds it has no recollection of Kavinsky ever having seen Josh. Won't he be annoyed to have been wrong? For now, though, he was holding Josh, because that was what matters.]

I'm so sorry, we put too much on you. But you're home now. You're safe. You can... you can retire. Do what you want. Recover. Find your peace and your freedom, love. Let me shoulder the weight for you.

[goldtoxicity]

[ of course david knew. it had been an open secret. ]

He's a lot of things [ a murderer, an opportunist, a person totally lacking in moral compass ] but I never thought he was...

[ or he never thought it would be him on the receiving end. kavinsky was his oldest friend here. he'd known him nearly as long as david if you laid out the timelines here and ignored the ones back home. ]

I'm here. I'm not going anywhere else.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Of course he was, David wants to snap. He's as caught up in the addiction to power as Tony is. Neither of them got that power was a burden, like the Five did. But he doesn't say it. Can't say it.]

Not until you're healed up. You're staying here until you're healthy again. Doctor's orders. And the doctor has more than a few able bodied people willing to assist in that end, no doubt.

[goldtoxicity]

Don't.

[ he doesn't mean for it to come out as it does. almost panicked. it's not a threat david means, but it's one he feels grip his heart none the less.

after a year in one space he can't stomach the thought of being kept in another. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

[The word aches in his chest, makes David want to cry. He moves enough to leave a soft kiss on Josh's brow.]

Three days. Bed rest. If you show marked improvement before that, you'll be released. But you have to know that you need bed rest. Your body needs energy and rest to heal itself. That little sleep of yours wasn't enough. And if you want out of here, just about everyone on the island is going to want a piece of you.

[The right people are being allowed access. He won't be alone.]

[goldtoxicity]

[ he still doesn't like it. but if he's honest he doesn't think he could walk right now even if he tried. ]

I just need to know that if I go up to that door, it's going to open.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Oh don't be silly. David pulls out of the hug and stands. Moves right to it and twists the handle and look, it opens.]

Hun, I know the space doesn't look familiar, but I've sort of overhauled my bedroom for you, hun. As ever, every bio-lock in the place is coded to open for you. And I've told it to obey any command you give to the systems.

[While he doesn't do Tony's level of AI, mostly out of lack of trust, it is a pretty effective smart home.]

If you'd prefer, I could ask Luther and Judd over to help me transfer you to your own home. We've kept it nice.

[goldtoxicity]

No... No, here is fine.

[ he also doesn't want to be alone. not like that. not again. ]

I just... need to know that the doors open. And I can go out them. Even if I'm stuck in bed right now.

I know, that's stupid.

[helpdesk_hero]

It's not stupid. For a few weeks after limbo I couldn't even wear tight shirts.

[Too much like the chains that bound him to the rock. That had been a brief period of time. For Josh it had been... so much more. So much worse.]

You know you always have free range of my home, Josh. Even... even after the decisions we made, right or wrong.

[goldtoxicity]

[ right.

he doesn't want to think too hard about that, either. how stupid he must look to david, leaning all over him. desperate for any kind of physical touch. pathetic. ]

I know.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Stupid? No. David is almost more desperate to touch his former lover than Josh has been.]

I... love you, Josh. And I'm here to take care of you. As long as you need.

[goldtoxicity]

Don't put yourself out on my account... you deserve a break from all this more'n anybody.

[ that was what had broken them apart, wasn't it? david needing a break, josh being incapable of giving himself one. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

[Is he even remotely kidding? David just shakes his head before moving back to Josh and running his fingers through the other man's hair.]

I don't want a break. I want to take care of the man I still love, no matter what I am to him.

[goldtoxicity]

[ he leans into the touch, the epitome of touch-starved. desperate and overwhelmed by everything he feels from david. for david. ]

You say that now.

[ it's a weak attempt at a joke. he loves david. but they don't work. they proved that before, didn't they? ]