open post, vol. 2

[nostalgiabomb]

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( VOL. 1 )

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[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter breathes out another laugh, unconsciously tilting his head a little to better appreciate the slow slide of Poe’s fingers across his scalp. ]

C’mon, man. You make it sound like I don’t take care of you.

[poessiblybi]

Yeah, when you’re around.

[ His tone is light, teasing, affectionate as he keeps coming through Peter’s hair. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter snorts out another laugh. ]

We’re both busy as hell.

[ And his tone turns slightly lofty. ]

You, saving the galaxy from tyranny and oppression.

Me, trying not to go broke.

We’re both doing very important things, obviously.

[poessiblybi]

[ Poe hums in solemn agreement. ]

I mean, yours sounds pretty intense. I'm just shooting some bad guys.

[nostalgiabomb]

Yeah. And anyone can shoot a gun.

[ He props himself up, rolling to one side to pull himself away from the temptation of settling atop Poe.

After a hesitation, he decides to commit and slide off the bed entirely, stretching a little. His ship isn’t the biggest, built more for speed and agility than storage, which means that the bathroom isn’t too far away. He casts over his shoulder, ]

It takes a lot of finesse to avoid the indomitable forces of debt collectors.

[poessiblybi]

That it does.

[ ... He absolutely, 100% understands the difficulty of avoiding collectors – especially when those collectors are perfectly happy to blast apart kneecaps instead of collecting credits.

Poe rolls onto his side, appreciatively watching Peter get up. ]

You sure you're out at sunrise?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter heads to the bathroom, grinning privately to himself at Poe’s question. Over his shoulder again, ]

100% sure, yeah. I’ve got a job lined up.

[ He busies himself with giving himself a cursory wipe down. After that, he returns with a towel, dampened with warm water. He sits on the edge of the bed, leg drawn up to turn toward Poe, and he works at cleaning the mess on Poe’s stomach. ]

I’m surprised you’re not out of here by the stroke of midnight, honestly.

[poessiblybi]

[ Poe isn't one to turn down a little pampering, even if it's something as simple as the diligent way Peter is wiping him off. He stays comfortably settled on his hip, reaching up to run fingers through his own messy hair. ]

I occasionally have the freedom of an exception or two.

[ The words, however, are probably more telling than he means them to be; he went out of his way to make sure he'd be able to stay longer with Peter. He absolutely pulled some strings to keep himself here overnight. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter pauses, processing the words and hearing what Poe isn’t saying, and— ]

Oh, shit.

[ Breathed out with a wince, and he glances up to catch Poe’s gaze, though there’s a faint air of sheepishness in his expression. ]

I didn’t realize—

I honestly figured you wouldn’t be able to stay too long.

[ Work tends to pull the two of them in different directions, and it was an uncommonly lucky time if they managed to eke out a handful of hours. Poe’s got important shit to take care of, Peter’s earlier teasing aside, and Peter would’ve bet good credits on Poe having some horrible, galaxy-wide catastrophe to avert mere moments after they said goodbye. ]

[poessiblybi]

[ Poe doesn't look disappointed (even if a tiny, minuscule part of him is), because he gets it. He remembers what life was like on Peter's side of the stars, and when a job presented itself, making it happen could be the difference between skating by on some gross veg-meat or actually stuffing your belly with decent fregeni.

So, obviously, he's not mad.

An eensy bit bummed out, maybe; but not annoyed.

Poe just shrugs as he rubs at the back of his neck, offering Peter a crooked smile. ]

It's good, man. It's not like I tried to coordinate our calendars or something; I just pushed my rendezvous time a little.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter still winces again, even with as much as the guy is downplaying it. ]

I can— try to leave a little later.

[ But even as he’s saying it, he falters, realizing what a bad idea that is. Leaving at sunrise is already shaving it uncomfortably close to the agreed rendezvous time, and the guy who hired him is liable to fire him if he’s even a minute late.

The guy is a prick like that. But with the credits he’s throwing around, the guy can do or say whatever the hell he wants, and Peter will just smile and nod along.

It might still be doable, pushing out his departure time, as long as he’s a little reckless. Then again, when isn’t he?

Peter huffs out a sharp breath, frustrated, then, trying to mask his uncertainty, ]

Yeah. I’ll leave later.

[poessiblybi]

[ Poe has known Peter long enough that the nervous hitch isn't anywhere near as subtle as Peter probably means it to be. He feels the languid little tug of soreness as he pushes himself upright, folding his leg as he turns to face Peter. ]

Hey.

[ Poe reaches out, slides his hand around the nape of Peter's neck. ]

I've got the wiggle room. You don't.

[ And as indulgent and reckless as Poe can be, he also understands practicality. ]

I'll be out of your hair so you can leave on time. Don't worry about it, all right?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter frowns, aggravated by the situation, but there’s a bit of gratitude in his expression, too. At least Poe gets it.

But if Peter had known Poe was gonna make some time for him, Peter would have tried to do the same, because—

... Because of something. Some weird, nebulous reason that Peter can’t quite get the shape of. But it’s— you know. Probably because of the mind-blowing sex, and how rarely they can manage it together.

He scrubs at his face with his free hand. ]

How long have you got?

[ Which probably should’ve been Peter’s question when they first decided to meet, but it’s always easier to see what he should have done when it’s already behind him. ]

I’ve just gotta meet with the guy to get the finer details in person. Maybe I can be there and back before you’ve gotta go.

[poessiblybi]

[ It's one of those unspoken exchanges, that bit of gratitude Poe sees in Peter's face. He knows how this life works, and he actually does believe that Peter would make the time for him, if he could.

It's weird that he doesn't question that part. ]

I gotta be there by tomorrow night.

[nostalgiabomb]

Tomorrow night?

[ And he echoes it with that same uncertainty bordering on disappointment from moments ago.

He runs his tongue over his teeth, thinking it over. Getting to the rendezvous point is going to take some time (and a decent amount of fuel), and he’s not sure how long his meeting is going to take. The guy who hired him isn’t exactly the chatty type, but Peter gets the feeling that the job is going to be more complicated than the initial briefing implied.

It’s possible he can make it back before Poe needs to leave, though whether he can return in time for any reunion to amount to anything more substantial than a quick wave goodbye is anyone’s guess. ]

I can go there and come straight back.

[poessiblybi]

[ They both know how impractical that is, which is why Poe just runs his thumb along Peter’s tendon, shaking his head. ]

C’mon. You’re just gonna burn through your tank.

[ And the extended time Poe had was kind of only worthwhile for the night and maybe the afternoon. He wasn’t going to expect Peter to make so many jumps just to maybe make it back in time to say goodbye. ]

It’s all good. We’ll figure something else out.

[ If, you know, Poe doesn’t die in a war before then. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter lets out another breath, disappointed again. ]

Sorry.

[ And he sounds like he certainly means it.

He tosses the little towel aside atop the nearby crate. ]

I just— I really did figure we weren't gonna have much time. If I'd known, I would've pushed back that meeting.

[poessiblybi]

I know.

[ His crooked smile is remorseful, but understanding. ]

But look, we've still got a while before you've gotta jet. I'm here until you kick me out, so.

Don't sweat it.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ "Don't sweat it," he says, but here's Peter, sweating it.

After a second, though, he forces himself to set it to one side, offering Poe a quick little smile. ]

Let me make it up to you. Maybe we can fool around enough that you won't even miss those extra hours.

[poessiblybi]

[ Poe hisses in a breath through his teeth, wrinkling his nose. ]

That sounds like a big job, Starboy.

Don't bite off more than you can chew.

[nostalgiabomb]

Star-Lord.

[ And he says it automatically, as he's moving closer on the bed. ]

And you're seriously gonna give me a complex with how little faith you apparently have in me.

[poessiblybi]

[ Poe seems plenty happy to welcome Peter back on the bed with him, though he tries to tamp down his grin as he reaches for Peter again. ]

That just means you're gonna have to send me off with the right impression so I won't end up doubting you again.

[ Duh. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

You're gonna have to work with me a little, at least.

[ This, as he's ducking down to mouth at Poe's neck. He reaches up, fingers tangling in his dark curls. ]

At least give me a hint on how you want it next.

[poessiblybi]

[ Oh, hello.

The wet heat of Peter's mouth on his neck makes Poe melt almost immediately under that touch, his eyes sliding shut, though that shit-eating grin only widens. ]

I mean, not to say you went easy on me before, but it did feel kind of like you kept the kid-gloves on.

[nostalgiabomb]

Oh.

[ And he says it lightly, feigning an air of surprise. ]

But that was because of how delicate and fragile you are. I thought you'd appreciate me being so gentle.