sixthiterationlogs | A man of peace? Ideas take precedence.

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A man of peace? Ideas take precedence.

WHO: Leonard da Vinci
WHERE: Various places
WHEN: Through February, more specifically February 8th-23rd
OPEN TO: OTA, one locked to Alistair (in comment)
WARNINGS: Nothing for now, will update if necessary!

All of Feb 8-23rd

After Leonardo's declaration on his wrist band, he got straight to work in the smithery. It would take time to change his ingots into something workable, and he had many long days and late nights ahead of him, but he was very happy about it. He started on Ezio's hidden blade, of course, always his first priority, the mechanism not difficult to put together with all the proper supplies. But then there was the steady clang when he started on blades. He can be found in his forge so if anyone requested an item from, they can swing by to give direction or ask questions.

He also occasionally remembers to take breaks from the forge only to enjoy the sunlight as he works on patching up a boat he identified as the best possibility for the pod. He can be found out back of house of house 26 doing that

Color Change, February 16th-23rd

Leonardo wakes up on February 16th feeling unburdened by some of the anxieties he'd be living with. He felt good, actually, and at first he chalks it up to certain things happening most recently, but eventually he can sense this particular boldness is something else. When he notices his wristband changed its lovely violet to a vivid red, and remembers people speaking of this on the network, he almost gets concerned. And then he doesn't actually end up caring, because really, it is what it is. So be it.

It is not overly noticeable at first that he's changed, but he does find himself more honest, feeling less like he has to reconsider everything he does. He can be found eating at the inn, walking through the greenhouse, lounging in the hot springs, and generally walking around with his head held high and a sharpened focus in blue eyes.

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There was a little bit of a blush - or maybe his cheeks were just red from the cold, but he still assured, "Absolutely. I'm getting pretty good at this whole. Memory sharing thing. Or at least being on this side of it."

He smiled brightly as he lifted his hand, placed it over Leonardo's, and then, after a small nod, closed his eyes so he could see whatever it was Leonardo wanted to show him. He enjoyed this, really. The chance to see places he'd never seen. Other worlds, even, now that he was sure this one wasn't going to peel back to show a place of green skies and clouds, black, ominous rocks, and an odd sort of dampness to every surface. He could live without Nightmare looming over him, certainly, and the fact that he now had a good friend here in Zevran, and Leonardo, who...

Maker's breath but he wanted nothing more than to hug the man and hold on to him and bury his face in the crook of his shoulder. To curl up around him and protect him from anything that might intend him harm. He'd never had someone with so much optimism who looked at him like he was something special.

"You're still the only one I've successfully done it with. Perhaps it is because I feel at ease with you. Or we're very compatible." The latter was said with a little bit of a flirt, smiling up at Alistair as he felt their skin touch and closed his eyes to focus.

A series of beautiful images in Florence, Italy. At a villa in the countryside where Leonardo grew up, in the bustling city streets, the famous Duomo lit up with the sky surrounding it. A vision of that sunset he mentioned, where the sky seemed to never end. Italy is vivid and colorful, the beauty of it heightened by the eyes of a painter witnessing it.

It was certainly homesickness he felt afterward, for he did love his home so very much. But it was nice to share it with someone else who would never ordinarily be able to see it. His eyes opened and he found himself admiring Alistair's face once again. A different type of beauty, but one he appreciated as well. His thumb gently caressed Alistair's cheekbone, feeling a wave of affection for the man. He'd never felt this way about anyone before, he was never allowed to.

"I wish I could bring you there, but then you and I would not be able to hold hands or touch like this, and that is an unbearable prospect for me at the moment." Leonardo smiles, chasing away the shadows in his own eyes and heart, for they are free here.

"It's so beautiful," he murmured, still caught in what he'd been shown. "The cathedral there - it reminds me of something I'd see in Orlais. Or maybe Antiva. That sunset, though..."

Alistair sighed, hoping those vivid colours would stay so bright in his memory. "I'd risk holding hands with you to see it. It's such a silly law, too. Just like the Chantry sisters. It's not illegal in Ferelden, or anywhere else in Thedas, but it is... A little scandalous. Moreso if you're noble, but I'm just a bastard so it wouldn't matter.

"But I should show you some of what I've seen sometime." His eyes were still bright and happy. "I think you'd like some of the elvhen ruins."

"It's the Duomo di Firenze, formally Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. While I am not a religious man, I am an amateur architect at heart, and I do love churches and buildings." Leonardo had worked on several buildings himself, and aqueducts he actively assisted with. There were very few areas of creativity that he didn't have some dabbling in. "The services there are beautiful, even if I never quite fit in."

Because of what he was. He smiled sadly, daring to run his fingers through Alistair's hair. No more than that, but he was skittish at the same time, that he was taking unwelcome freedoms. "Nobles tend to get free of consequence. I was set free from jail due to my connections at the time, but it would not protect me from execution if I flaunted the law frequently." He had connections and protections, but not enough, and they might not bother after a time if it was too much for their ego. "I thought I would never be allowed to have what I wanted."

He doesn't want to push Alistair's physical boundaries too much, so he dropped his hand down to his arm. There was affection and trust in his eyes, smiling at him. "Of course I would. I want to know more about you, Alistair."

They were, he judged with a glance, a decent distance away from any foot traffic. It was night, and most people were indoors, out of the cold.

So he made a decision.

He let go of Leonardo's hand in favour of settling his hands at either side of Leonardo's waist. Innocent, really. Next thing to a hug. Just slightly, ever so slightly, more intimate. "I want to hear everything about you," he said softly, eyes taking in the sincerity in Leonardo's expression, the affection, the trust, the warmth. The smile that put that warmth in his veins and butterflies in his stomach. "You're so smart and kind and sweet. I don't know if anything I could tell you would be..."

Damn it, how to say it. He exhaled, shook his head. "My world wasn't really kind to me. I think back on everything I saw and I keep having trouble figuring out how to tell it so it's a story with a happy ending."

His heart beat a little faster and he felt those butterflies in his stomach too when Alistair came closer. Leonardo didn't even look around them nervously or worry about who was watching. He was stuck on Alistair's gentle hands and shyly, hesitantly, he lifted his own to place on the front of Alistair's coat. Leaning into that warmth, into the type of affection he'd been denied all these years.

Leonardo blushed at the compliments and might have responded if he didn't sense that Alistair had something more serious to say, so he waited and let the man find the words. "You do not need to tell me a happy ending. I do not want to push, if it is difficult to speak of, but I want you to know that I will be here to listen to all of it. I never expected ... to feel this way about anyone."

But he did. Somehow it happened, before he knew he would not be arrested, and believed perhaps it was possible. "I do not think you know how engaging you are. From the moment we met, I knew you were someone special." He let the strength of his conviction about that, his belief and the truth of what he said, to shine in his eyes, to make his accented voice clear and gentle. "Am I saying too much?" Uncertainty flickering for a moment. This was so new to him.

"No."

It was very, very possible that there had never been a softer 'no' spoken. Soft - but sincere.

"It's not too much. It's... It's making me blush, absolutely, and I-- can't hardly believe that this can be real because of... " Because of a year of being someone's tool, their weapon, their executioner. Of years before that getting his knuckles rapped with rulers or his rear end swatted with a paddle or worse. Years before that spent sleeping with dogs and mucking out stalls. "...Because I... I'm not used to good things. And you are very, very good."

Leonardo realized he didn't feel cold the same way anymore. His skin was chilly to the touch, but he was flushed with excitement and nerves, and he was warmed by Alistair's touch. By being held close to him in such an intimate way, and feeling absolutely safe. He believed that Alistair could and would protect him.

"So are you." He ran his hands from Alistair's chest up over his shoulders. Those broad, impressive shoulders, with their beautiful lines he couldn't wait to sketch some day. It was much like his usual hugs, except closer, and the way he easily wrapped them around Alistair's neck was an entire different type of comfort.

"The first time we met I mentioned you were a handsome man I could have dreamed up." He was teasing now, his smile sweet. "Your card said what romance is to you. I can offer kindness, gentleness, long talks, and I will find you flowers. I do not often make jokes let alone bad ones, however." Leonardo was a very light hearted man and laughed easily, but making jokes was not his forte. "I can make you blades and if I ever get paints, you will have to sit for me, and I cannot physically protect you, but I ----"

He let one hand drop down to Alistair's chest, over his heart. "I will protect your heart in other ways, if you'll allow me."

There was wonder in Alistair's expression. He didn't manage a smile, not really, but only because this was so far beyond anything he'd imagined. He was...

Twice he'd been into the Fade. The first time, he'd been tempted with family. The latter, Nightmare had thrown all of his fears and a few temptations at him once the rift had closed. Now, he knew this couldn't be an offshoot of the area Nightmare commanded. No demon could do this. Desire demons always twisted everything with a touch of the inappropriate. His fears weren't for himself. Nothing of this really touched on his insecurities - not in the way a demon would.

This was real. And this amazing man was... It sounded too good to be true. But as his arms wound around Leonardo's waist, he could feel him, how he shifted, how he moved. The faint warmth he gave off even in the cold. He felt his heart clench under the hand splayed over it. This was real.

"I--"

He half-choked on the word, cleared his throat, and then laughed. "I'm-- I'm the one who brings flowers," he finally managed. "And I'm always the one who makes bad jokes. If you're sure you can put up with me, Leonardo..."

Alistair bit his lip, a smile slowly spreading across his face. And then, hearkening back to their earlier conversation, he said, "I'd have to be foolish to say no. And I'm not always a fool. Just, right now, a very, very happy man."

Leonardo was satisfied in his life before now, with his inventions and his work, and with his genuine friendships. While a part of him knew he lacked something extra that might have made him happy, he decided years ago that it was something he could live without, because he had to. It was a closed door. He didn't expect it to swing open again. He didn't expect a giant dragon fighter to walk through it and sweep him off his feet. It was the type of romantic fairytale in a book, not in real life. He was very lucky.

"I will do much more than put up with you, mio caro." Leonardo flashed a smile full of light and joy, chuckling. "I will keep the flowers alive as long as I can and press the petals after, I will laugh at all the jokes I understand." He would too. He was a very sentimental person, but romance was going to be new and exciting to him to experience. He was throwing himself head first into something spectacular, and he was less terrified every moment they stayed in this warm embrace.

"Your smile is more beautiful than that sunset," he murmured. He wanted to keep giving Alistair reasons to make it. Leonardo ran his tongue over his lips and bit the bottom one for a moment, enraptured by that smile. "So we are agreed. We are ...." He paused, uncertain of the word. "Dating?" That was what she said. Speed dating.

A laugh and Alistair shook his head, saying, "I don't know what word to call it, but that's as good as any. We're... We're an us now, I think."

And that was the only reason he needed to lean down and press a soft kiss to Leonardo's forehead, arms settling comfortably around his waist to keep them close. It felt good. Soothed a loneliness he didn't know he'd felt - not really. That loneliness was probably, he realised, what had urged him toward Sereda. That decision hadn't been the best, by far. But Leonardo was nothing like the Aeducan princess.

He was miles better.

But that did--

"Oh, um."

He should tell him. His smile faltered into something sheepish.

"I... I guess I should tell you, for all it doesn't make a difference here? But you should know, just in case. I know I told you that I'm a bastard - well, um. I'm...

"My father was a king? I mean, it changes nothing, I never knew him or anything, and I was never in line, but... If we're going to do this, I... You should know."

Alistair was so tall and compact; Leonardo didn't think himself someone who would be so heavily attracted to that type of broad muscle, but there were a lot of things about his attractions he was learning. He very much liked what he saw. He went back to lacing his hands around Alistair's neck, his fingers playing idly with the hair at the back of his neck. He was glad to be with a man who was as affectionate as he was, because Leonardo craved physical contact.

His eyebrow arched, tilting his head to the side curiously, as Alistair talked around something that apparently he wanted to confess to. Leonardo's eyes then widened at the revelation, and he grinned. "Forgive me for being strangely smug that a lowly bastard artist won over the heart of a royal, illegitimate or not." Leonardo's father was quite wealthy, and he had many wealthy friends himself, but none that claimed royal bloodlines.

"I ---" There was a pause then, and his brow furrowed, uncertain. "If we are to be together, I feel that I should tell you ...." Leonardo looked worried, because his confession was far more complex than having a bloodline. "There was a man here. A one time encounter, nothing more than physical." Blue eyes dropped, nervous. "I suppose I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of acting without fear." It was a difficult process from him, unlearning terror. His glance back up was plaintive. "It helped me be less afraid of who I am, and now feel safe enough to enter in a romance with you. But I swear, I want you, and I pray this will not get between us."

That smugness looked good on him, even if it made him laugh a little - him, royal? That was what he'd gotten exiled for. But then Leonardo kept speaking and he listened.

When he first said there was another, Alistair felt his stomach drop. It figured, he half thought, that he'd let himself start to have feelings for someone unavailable. But as he kept speaking, that ache faded in favour of him pulling Leonardo into a bit of a squeeze. "I'll admit," he said, "I was a little afraid at first, but--" Alistair shook his head. "I don't mind, Leonardo. The past is the past, whether it was here or home. As long as we're faithful when we're together, that's all I care about."

And he placed a light kiss on the tip of Leonardo's nose.

Leonardo was genuinely afraid for a moment, that he'd managed to find this man only to lose him to a past choice hastily made. Relief flooded him and his smile was brilliant and wide. He knew he would feel the same were their positions reversed, but it was still important, to be honest with him now, so there was lying nothing between them. "There is no one else, Alistair. I am yours, if you want me."

He scrunched up his nose after the kiss and laughed. It simply wasn't something anyone had done to him before, but it was endearing because of that. Leonardo ran his fingers through Alistair's again, he could get used to that, it was very nice hair, it was very nice everything.

He leaned up to press a sweet kiss to his cheek and then pulled back to look Alistair in the eyes, searching his gaze. "May I kiss you?" He murmured, feeling like it was important to ask, to gauge Alistair's comfort level instead of assuming. Leonardo really and truly wanted to, he had thought about it ever since he caught that thought from Alistair before. "It is fine if you are not ready," he spoke so softly, gently. Alistair was used poorly before. Leonardo wanted to take care of his heart.

He'd thought it would be too soon. But he wasn't sure, now, if it was or not. He looked into Leonardo's eyes, a hand lifted to touch his cheek, to trace his cheekbone with his thumb, and he found himself starting to smile. "I think I'd like that," he answered. Because now, with what they'd said, it seemed like it'd be right. Like it'd feel right. Like it'd mean something, and that meant more to him than the rest. "Just... It's been a long time since I've kissed anyone. So you might have to be a little patient while I figure it out again, all right?"

He hoped it was all right. He had a lot that he needed to remember, he felt, and this was a good place to start.

So, after biting his lips, he leaned down, eyes searching Leonardo's, and then shifting to his lips as he neared.

Leonardo smiled back at him affectionately, his hand in his hair moving down to the back of his neck now that he knew his request would be given. "This will be my first time kissing with any true feeling. I am nervous too." Kissing without feeling was what he knew before, it was the only way to get anything. He did love the man he was arrested for, but that was never two sided. Lucifer was passionate but detached too. With Alistair it mattered a great deal. He might have waited but he felt it so deeply in his heart.

Leonardo cupped Alistair's face in his hands and leaned up to meet him, pressing their lips together in a soft and relatively chaste kiss. Alistair's lips were as soft as he had been dreaming about, from the first time they met, but especially after their first shared set of memories. Now he got to have it. He lingered in its sweetness as long as he could, his heart thumping, but eventually pulled out of it. But not out of Alistair's space, still close, nuzzling their noses together. "Thank you," he murmured, giving him a second gentle peck but kept it simple and brief. He tingled all over. All his kisses couldn't compare to this one, because it was with Alistair.

Edited 2019-03-12 12:39 (UTC)

Such a small kiss - and yet it had him smiling, pressing his forehead against Leonardo's, hugging him close. "Thank you, Leonardo," he whispered. "I've not had this kind of hope or this kind of faith in a long time."

And then, with his grin growing, he edged down just a little - just enough to get his arms beneath Leonardo's hips so when he stood, he lifted him as if he weighed no more than a feather. His smile was bright as the sun as he spun the both of them around, beaming up at Leonardo as if he'd hung the moon. He'd forgotten what hope felt like. And now, he couldn't imagine someone better to have shown him.

Leonardo was about to reply but then he was being lifted and he laughed, wrapping his arms around Alistair's neck to hold on. He kept laughing as they turned, his heart light, looking down into Alistair's face with that same expression on his face. He hung the moon. He was a dream come true. "You're going to make me dizzy," he teased, although it was clear from the way he smiled, pressing their foreheads together, he was in no way complaining.

"As much as I'd rather you carry me everywhere from now on," still chuckling, "put me down so I can show you my favorite part of the village. It is best in sunrise, but you will see." It was a very romantic sight, a place where it was easy to see everything in its quiet and rural beauty, and Leonardo wanted to share it all with him. And more.

[Maybe wrap on here or on yours? I am putting up a new OTA with him sooooon if you wanttttt another cuteness scene. :D]

He was gentle as he placed Leo back on his feet, but stole a kiss to his forehead on the way. "We'll have to see it in sunrise sometime, then, if that's when it looks best," he said, but then he was taking Leonardo's hand to let him lead, completely oblivious to any possible entendres his words could have meant. All that was on Alistair's mind was spending more time with Leonardo.

[And we'll wrap! And yaaaasssss]

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A man of peace? Ideas take precedence.

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