#eight: i'm not a chiss why do you care

[eorzeashan]

it's Eight thinkin hours again

It'll be awhile before I can get to Hoth, but I'm not ready for him to meet Saganu face to face. In-game there's nothing emotionally gut-punchy about it, but in this story...Saganu has to look at the prodigal son man who his wife cries for every other night. He'll try to make him see her, of course. Eight will blow him off. Say things like "our lives don't intersect anymore." ' you have burned a hole in her heart. you are hurting her to this day.' "then tell her to stop caring."

It's even colder than Chiss standards. He'll be enraged. He won't show it, of course, because wolves can smell weakness. He'll narrow his eyes at this young man who once sacrificed everything so his wife could get out of the Intelligence trap and escape into his arms and think, what happened to you?

Then Eight will blow a hazy cloud from the pipe his Nosta used to smoke and one piece of the puzzle will click into place. This is not a stranger; this is the part of his wife she left behind, excised from herself with tears and blood, and somehow, it became its own person.

His habits are all the same as hers. It's frightening to watch. He can't tell if he wants to thank him for saving Nosta's life so long ago in the past or shoot him in the leg for being a very-much alive skeleton in the closet who reduces her to tears on account of simply existing.

Saganu has had enough. "Get in," He demands, forceful yet restrained in his diplomat's way, lips pressed tightly together. He motions to the Ascendancy shuttle that lowers its landing dock then and there. Eight stares at him and blows yet another infuriating cloud of smoke that most would find seductive in the long way he takes a drag of it. Saganu knows very well it's an old tactic Nosta used, to draw attention to her lips and their succulent quality, the way they might suck on her intending target. He bristles.

"You are going to see her whether you like it or not, Agent."

Eight regards him in stoic silence, unmoving from the ice wall he's leaned against. "And here I thought we had an understanding."

[eorzeashan]

How do you see the relationship between Eight, Ain'res, and Jey'mian? Are they fuckbuddies? Mutuals with really amazing benefits? Or is there an actual relationship in there?

(Okay, not really a sinday ask, but come on, there's plenty of sex in there XD)

Ahaha, I think it counts! I actually think about this a lot, so let's try to break it down.

They're not FWB; that's Eight and Theron, and even friendship in that area can be very on the ropes sometimes (and is more or less a tool to tease Theron about any repressed desires he has). "I'm horny but why does it have to be YOU" '(evil co-worker laughter that says he's going to bully him relentlessly about it during the worst times)' is basically their dynamic. Anyways, back on topic.

It certainly started out in that area for all three and then began to creep into the other areas, I feel.

Amazing benefits? Absolutely. Mutual? Of course. Eight at first thought that he and Jey'mian just happened to be seeing the same person (Ain'res) and then Jey'mian got used to him being around, but to say there's no relationship between them would be a lie. Eight does care deeply for Ain in the first place-- at first, they both stuck to no public displays of affection to keep each other safe and couldn't even admit they loved one another for quite awhile, so they most likely pretended to only be mutuals with benefits... but that obviously was overruled by very strong emotions that couldn't be denied, especially after everything that happened both in and out of Intelligence. Even their sex is ruled by longing.

And then Jey'mian came along, and wow! There's someone else that makes Ain smile a little more (or less. twice the trouble). It's a sign he's fearing less about losing others if he's accepting more into his heart. Eight thought he could just hang around Jey'mian since he had no qualms about sharing, but it was going to be impossible for their paths not to intersect and he always had a vested interest in him. I feel like they both bonded over Ain'res and went "oh, this guy's cute too."

Even though he's yet to learn enough about him, Eight's grown attached to Jey and their shared relationship with Ain as another variable that just makes their lives better. Could it stay in the realm of attraction? Of course. There's no doubt these two Chiss are extremely attractive to him. Will it? Well... it's tipping into the other side with each passing day. He likes seeing both of them happy with each other and he likes people who treat his loved ones with care; it speaks to Jey'mian's character that he can come that close to both him and Ain.

And in a final added benefit, Eight is a rarity among agents because once he determines he likes you, he worms directly into your space, hesitations be damned. None of that Imperial holding at arms-length or shyness; he is rather bold at making first moves and encouragement, and there's nothing he'd rather do than soothe whatever doubts they have about nurturing their bonds. He feels time is short-- he knows how short it is-- and though he understands the need to protect oneself, he really does want at least Ain'res and Jey'mian to get to enjoy this life for what it is.

If that includes him too, he has no reservations about it.