( OPEN ) compared to what

[hedone]

WHO: solo & you
WHERE: bajikan: luxuria, gula, avaritia
WHEN: between march 9th and whenever the fleet leaves
WHAT: solo arrives on the eluvio, but soon makes his way down to the planet to explore.
WARNINGS: sex, drugs (in the form of alcohol) and rock'n'roll bespoke suits.


❝ luxuria ❞

[ the first thing solo notices when he enters this district is that the air is cloying and sweet, like the heavy perfume only some women can truly wear without it becoming overpowering. it's an interesting impression, especially combined with the sort of stores lining the streets, the things that they have on offer. some are rather more adventurous than anything solo has ever seen. some of it is intriguing, some of it strikes him as rather declasse, but all of it invites further investigation.

so he continues wandering the streets until he finds a five star restaurant overlooking the ocean, a beautifully designed place that offers food that has solo making appreciative noises all through the meal—though near the end of it, he finds that his hunger is nowhere near sated, that what started as a low sort of interest has changed into full-blown need. his fingers itch to touch someone, to run over sensuous curves or even hard muscle. he wants to taste sweat and skin.

loosening his tie and unbuttoning the first button of his suit doesn't quite help, but solo will admit this much: it's a welcome change from confusion and an even more welcome change from what he'd felt before finding himself on board of the eluvio. he hasn't quite written off the possibility yet that he did actually die in that electric chair and only hallucinated illya rescuing him, but if the afterlife feels like this?

solo has no complaints—but he does have a metaphorical itch to scratch, and when he spots another person on their own in the restaurant, he crosses the distance and slides into the chair opposite them, legs spread just a little wider than normal to make room for the result of his growing hunger between them. ] Hello. [ he smiles, a slow and intimate affair. ] What do you say we split dessert?

❝ gula ❞

[ the first bar that solo had wandered into had turned out to be less of a bar and more of a club in which they'd played loud music that solo will one day learn is called "techno". he had been quite curious to see individuals with their shirts off and luminous paint on their bodies, but the music hadn't been to his liking and the drinks menu had left quite a lot to be desired, so he'd grown more discerning in his approach.

what he settles on in the end is a bar that is all but hidden away behind a narrow door in a brick wall with little indication of the dimly lit speakeasy that lies beyond it. the waiters all wear waistcoats, a singer croons in the background, accompanied only by a piano and a bass, and the list of whiskeys is truly extensive.

solo settles in for the night, and it isn't until his third whiskey that he decides he could stand for a little company in his drinking. so once he finishes it, he abandons his table to slide into an empty spot at the bar, turning a charming smile to the person next to him. ] Is there anything you'd recommend here?

❝ avaritia ❞

[ solo cannot understate his delight when he'd found that consuming a flower would give him a decent disposable income. of course, he would be happy to supplement it by stealing some of the jewellery on display or by trying his luck in one of the many casinos, but he hasn't had the time to get a feel for this place yet beyond that instinctive first impression, and so he decides to play it safe for now. after all, he is somewhere entirely unknown, with no allies—and no leash. it's freeing and it's only a little worrisome to think that he has been transported to a time and place where not only is transporting people from other times and places a possibility, but where space travel exists and whole planets, it seems, have been turned into tourist attractions.

not that he is complaining, mind.

he has, in fact, found a delightful store that makes bespoke suits for a really very decent price, and seeing how he'd only arrived with one suit and one missing its jacket at that, he is more than happy to leave his money in said store. (he refuses to think of how he lost his jacket or of what transpired just before he'd arrived here. it's of no consequence now, is it?)

there is only one issue: for the third suit he's ordered, he can't settle on a print. and so he sticks his head out of the store and calls to a passerby: ] Excuse me. Would you mind terribly giving me a bit of advice?

Comments

[hedone]

[ it isn't really about the cheesecake for solo, but now that the shock of being so very wrong about whose table he'd chosen has eased some of the more pressing urges solo has been feeling, he's happy enough to pretend that it had been dessert on his mind all along instead of something else entirely. ]

What would you consider a good one?

[ if his voice still drops a little over the question into something low and intimate, if his gaze is a little intense still, he isn't actually trying to be seductive right now. it just so happens that he'd very much like to seduce someone right now.

but he takes the menu without letting his fingers linger over suigetsu's. it's an achievement of sorts. ]

[liquidate]

(a pinch of lips together into a flat line, wondering exactly why this person's attention makes his ears warm, but it's a pleasant sensation and one he's not all too quick to get rid of. suigetsu recognizes the fact that he's been drugged and it's not his first rodeo; this is just par for the course.)

Chocolate hazelnut crunch. (why is there no pause, or deliberation here... he knows what he wants and looks like, way too excited in a shallow lean of elbows onto the table.

no apparent etiquette for any restaurant, let alone a nice one like this. let's just say he doesn't have the social graces for this kind of thing. he'll even forget to put a napkin on his lap and probably dig into his glass to fish out the ice cubes. run while you're still able.)

Everyone's wearing such nice suits, did I miss some kind of event or did you just buy it? Is this one expensive too?

[hedone]

That's a very specific answer. [ there's some warm amusement in solo's tone. no pause, no deliberation—it seems his new companion has been pondering the question of dessert for some time now, or has very strong opinions on the matter. honestly, given how this has progressed so far, solo would not be surprised if it were both.

when suitgetsu compliments his suit, solo glances down at it, eyebrows raised just so. the compliment doesn't actually surprise him, but it doesn't do to seem too certain in one's own sense of style and attire. ] Why, thank you. I bought it just yesterday. It was time for a few new pieces in my wardrobe.

[ more like: some lunatic torturer burnt his last one, or it with him. but solo isn't thinking about that right now. ]

[liquidate]

What can I say? I know what I like. (hand to cheek, leaning with a sidelong look at the bar.

it's easy for him to pick apart the subtle quirks of anyone's, let alone solo's, but he'd prefer not to. perception is a great skill until it gets in the way of trying to enjoy oneself — then it's just a pain in the ass.)

I'm not too interested, 'cause I'm not very materialistic, but I never understood things like that. (motioning lazily to him, eyelids low; he's just happy to be in someone's bubble and not spending a short time alone (which can happen any time, so why miss an opportunity).) Are you trying to impress somebody?

[hedone]

That's not a bad quality in a man. [ in anyone, really. though it is too bad that what suigetsu likes and what solo was hoping for are two very different things. solo will just have to find someone more willing and suited to indulging what desires won't be sated by eating cheesecake.

is he trying to impress somebody? solo's smile is slow, shoulders lifting a little as he spreads his hands. ] No one in particular, no. But I do enjoy looking my best.

[ it's a thoroughly honest answer. it's also a thoroughly superficial answer. ] Surely you'll agree that it suits me quite nicely.

[liquidate]

That's important for some people. () For others I guess it's more... Utility!

(motions to solo, palms flat to the table. he's jittery and his inexperienced is why he can't quite understand the warm, comfortable feeling of reaping another person's attention. it's completely his, no one else is talking; this is a one on one conversation with no interruptions— except for the waitress that finally stops by to take the order.

suigetsu forgets what he was saying when she asks them what they want, only remembering when she pries the menu from his unreceptive hands. not without leaving the table with their orders and very pointed over-the-shoulder stares in the older man's direction. which, in turn, makes the younger jealous.

all par for the course.)

I mean, she definitely agrees that it suits you nicely. I dunno about wearing those myself, though, they seem kinda stiff. Don't get a lot of flexibility, y'know?

[hedone]

In some cases, looking good can be quite useful.

[ even solo wears something else when it comes to getting physical, like breaking in somewhere, climbing fences, running, when he's walking into a warzone, but when it's a question of charming a mark, running a con, getting information? oh, looking good is an asset then.

the waitress stops by their table and solo turns his smile to her. the way her gaze lingers even after she's taken their order makes him think that even if they don't get a discount, solo will have a very good evening indeed. she's a lovely woman, all curves, and surely her shift will end sometime soon. ]

A well-tailored suit gives you plenty of flexibility, I promise. [ he doesn't mean to drop his voice over those words, doesn't mean to insinuate something particular when he lingers on "flexibility"—or does he? either way, it happens. ]

[liquidate]

(a squint, between the woman and solo, watching her back like a hawk as she leaves.

then, promptly drums his fingers on the table. there's something making him nervous and it's the feeling suffocating him right now, wholly inexperienced with it. amorous situations have never been understood or really felt before, this one making him uncomfortable — while simultaneously glad solo is around. at least someone from their crew is here.

at the word "flexibility", suigetsu's eyes drop to the suit again. the way he holds himself in it, confident in a way he himself could never be.

then, a look down at his drink.)

If... If you say so, stranger. (this stupid poncho is starting to get really heavy and it's that that makes him recognize what's happening.) Are we being drugged? Did you see them slip me something?

[hedone]

[ solo can't say anything about the poncho, but he can tell a lot by the reactions of his own body and even just watching the swell of the waitress' hips as she walked away has left his trousers almost uncomfortably tight. he's been half-hard for a while now, but even just the thought of more is enough to push it along.

it's a bit of an effort to focus on suigetsu again, though he tries hard and largely manages to seem like it isn't. ]

Oh, I don't think it's in the drinks. Something in the air, more likely.

[ yes, he is always this nonchalant when it comes to being drugged. ]