ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO

[tehpuck]

[Voice Post | | Accidentally Posted To Journal With Phone]

Niko Leandros, if I have to hear your voicemail one more time, I am going to start pitying your ears; really, there must be a point wherein the polyphonic rendering of Kung Fu Fighting becomes tiresome. Phones are not just vibrators, you're aware? They can also be used to communicate with

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[leaving on a jetpl... portal]

[ishiah]

[Ignore the cascade of feathers as Rover struggles free.]

Yes, I have to bring Rover. He can meet... Rover.

Did you reach him yet? Delilah?

[leaving on a jetpl... portal]

[tehpuck]

[And Robin precariously dodging ew slobbery dog.]

This is what the seeds of your uncreativity has sewn, you realize. I am not calling it Rover II.

[A confused look,] Delilah has a phone? [Which is to say, no, he's reached neither.]

[leaving on a jetpl... portal]

[ishiah]

I don't pass on her schedule by semaphore. Didn't.

[Ishiah looks as impassive as ever, save the slight twitch to one corner of his mouth which he's clearly fighting to control. Neither?]

We can call him Two. [The portal is getting smaller.] ...Alright, what are you taking?

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[tehpuck]

[Robin shrugs. His confusion and sudden case of the jitters could possibly be mistaken for apathy if one was as drunk as Robin wished he was.]

I am not calling a dog Two.

[And he gestures, vaguely, to the bed. The honeysuckle plant and Robin The Toad await, both packed neatly with all their necessities. They're the only irreplacable things here.]

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[ishiah]

I've yet to hear you call him anything not suffixed with an obscenity. We'll find a compromi-

[Ishiah almost has time to feel touched about the honeysuckle before he notices the toad. The secret toad Robin has never mentioned to him. His nakesake.]

And what am I supposed to call that.

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[tehpuck]

I was thinking Chow and L-

[Ah, yes, the secret toad. Robin stands erect, hands crossed at his chest, daring Ishiah to laugh at him.]

Robin.

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[ishiah]

[That tug at Ishiah's mouth reverses itself and becomes a rare smile.]

We could call him Two.

[Glancing around, it seems like there are so many things left behind.]

I've written notes, to Niko, Kurama, Holly. Things should be taken care of in our... while we're gone. Are you sure that's all?

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[tehpuck]

At least I posses the excuse of not naming him myself. He was originally owned by an adoring fan of mine. [A good friend.]

You can call him Namesake, if you must.

[Robin nods. It's better than shrugging, again.] Yes. All of this, while pleasing to the eye, is replaceable- [And then he remembers something that isn't. Wandering off to his closet, he quickly returns with five shirts. Light forest, medium forest, dark forest, patterned and silk.]

Alright. Yes, this is all, Ishiah.

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[ishiah]

[Those were a better kept secret. Ishiah had expected any reminders of that week to be long since burnt. Watching them folded into the box with the honeysuckle and Namesake, he folds an arm lightly across Robin's shoulders.]

The common theory says we won't remember much of this.

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[tehpuck]

[And, Robin, leaning softly into the touch, goes stiff. He nods his head in a jerky, unsure motion, not quite meeting Ishiah's eyes.]

Then I apologize in advance.

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[ishiah]

[And Ishiah pulls him gently closer, dipping his head to kiss the incline of Robin's throat in a moment's contemplation, before drawing back to murmur against his ear.]

Don't. Only try and remember this.

[He hesitates a half-beat, trying to ascertain whether the pulse racing in his ears Robin's or his own.]

I love you.

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[tehpuck]

[If Robin had stiffened before, he has doubled that consistency, now. He turns to look Ishiah in the eyes, and stifles a list of questions he can almost hear coming.]

[You do? Is that why you've done all this? For how long? How much? But do you forgive me?]

[Instead, he closes his eyes, shaking his head before reaching around Ishiah in a panicked, greedy kiss. When he pulls away, he seems to have gained some confidence in the process, almost as if he's pulled it from Ishiah himself.]

I do, too. I do- I love you. Ishiah, I love you.

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[ishiah]

[Ishiah has answers for all of those, if there was only the time. It's not the first occasion he's found he should have spoken sooner.]

[He keeps Robin in his arms, not too far, just long enough to return a soft,]

Thank you.

[It's the closest he can come, in the time they have, to confirming that he believes, and trusts. He's grateful. And he knows. Perhaps, somewhere, he always did.]

[He holds that gaze, that smile, for just a moment more, before the dimming portal calls his attention too forcefully.]

Well. I couldn't be more grateful that the last affliction wore off yesterday. We... We should go.

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[tehpuck]

Thank-?

[Oh, yes, the portal. A hand snakes up to pull at Ishiah's head, calling him back in his sights for another moment,]

We'll continue this on the other side, then.

[It's a dare to Robin's memory, nothing he's ever had too much faith in.]

After you.

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[ishiah]

[Ishiah only nods his agreement, holding the same challenge in his eyes. Then, reaching out sideways, his free hand comes up with the leash-end of an over excited dog. One down.]

You're expecting to follow me? Robin, I have no intention of changing the pattern now.

[One more kiss, and Robin's own free hand claimed. Essentially, they'll go together.]

After you.

[Leaving On A Jetpl-... Portal]

[tehpuck]

[Robin wobbles, a bit, gathering the plant (thank Zeus it's small), the frog (not nearly as small), and slinging the shirts over his shoulder.]

[Robin's face curls into the most affectionate of doting smiles, to whisper words said in a similarly loving tone:] Difficult bastard.

[And, holding Ishiah maybe a bit closer than he really needs to, he takes the first half-step through, and maybe three words are lost in the sound of a world both familiar and odd rushing up at him. Them.]

[Both of them. Together.]