meadowlarklogs | those who died are justified;

[ Noctis does not arrive half an hour early. He does not arrive ten minutes early. He does not, even, arrive on time.

He's only -- only!! -- five minutes late when he actually does make it to the safehouse, equally darkly dressed in spite of the heat but he's found himself far more form-fitting pants and a far looser shirt. A patterned dark grey boat neck-cut paired with purposefully faded denim? Some looks, he has decided, are universal and trans-dimensional.

Noctis realizes only upon arriving that he has no idea who he's looking for, however, and it's unclear at first what has him stopping near Jason to give him a once-over. ]

... Matches? Those pants make me think it's you. [ mystery solved ]

( not only is noctis late (not even just not early, but late, you fucker) but he shows up with sass on his tongue and a bite in his tone. which is fucking great, and he's quickly becoming one of jason's favorite brats running around this trash heap.

there's a moment's pause where he does almost look confused (just to fuck with him) before jason's letting his lips spread into a wide grin, raising a brow as he

sizes noctis up. looks him over head to toe. )

Man, for someone who talks so much shit, you sure are small.

( jason does know better than to underestimate someone by their size. but it's fun anyway, bullying noctis for his. )

You sure you're up for it?

[ His chin lifts so he can meet Jason's eyes, admittedly, the shoulder attached to the arm not bound in a sling lifting with a rolled shrug. ]

Heard that one before, but that better not be making you change your mind. The guy I normally train with would say the same thing while looking at you. [ But then again Gladio is inexcusably massive. ]

And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't back down from him either, so what do you think?

No. I wouldn't turn someone down for being small. Size isn't a measurement of strength.

( physical strength maybe, but jason has had his ass kicked by a ten year old before. small, scrawnyish, but trained since birth to kick ass. he wouldn't devalue noctis' own capabilities of taking him down just because he looks like he belongs in a boyband, not a fist fight.

jason kicks off from the wall, gesture for noct to follow him. they're not pulling this inside the safehouse. )

The guy you normally train with around?

[ How about a fist-fighting boyband. ]

Nah.

If he were you would've seen him. [ Which is easy to interpret as "you would've seen him around" when in reality what Noctis means is "you would've seen him behind me, right now". A new person for Noctis to fight when he's devoid of the vast majority of his abilities? Gladio would definitely want to be present for that, just in case. ]

Why, looking for more people to square up against? [ ... ] You know, you're not the kind of guy I would've picked out of a crowd to be Matches Malone. Without the pants.

Just curious, is all.

( it's good to know the strengths and weaknesses of everyone they've tagged along. jason isn't keeping track, but if they've got another guy bigger than him (aside from thor) it'd be fucking great to know just how that dude wields it. muscle growth doesn't just happen overnight. )

Maybe I'm trying to hide, ever thought 'bout that? ( he is, in a way. 'matches malone' would be easily recognized by anyone who showed up from his side of the fence. anyone he'd be concerned about. it gives them an obvious target to latch onto, while allowing jason to keep his own name under wraps. )

If you're actually curious fine, but if it were more than that I'm pretty sure he'd spar with you if he showed up. If it's hand to hand he's a little stronger than me.

[ "A little." And would be harder for Noctis's pride to admit in front of Gladio, but it isn't exactly a secret. He can finally let him have this one after years of ~~not at all~~ hot debate. ]

And yeah, sure, I thought about it. [ To his entirely minimal credit. ] I dunno... feels like everyone showing up like we did would wanna' hide out.

Plus you said all that tropey stuff about infiltrating seedy bars, so you've got more reasons to keep things under wraps.

( "a little". that's something jason understands, too. admiring someone stronger than you but not quite wanting to admit that they are, even when they're nowhere to be seen. he's got a few of those. it earns noctis a quiet snort as he exits the safehouse, starts walking down an alley just a bit away from it. )

Or I could be purposely misleading everyone. Making you think I'm going after shit like that when my attention's focused elsewhere. I could have a fake name, a fake identity, a fake shared history--all for the purpose of keeping everyone off my tail regardless of where I'm playing around.

( alternatively: he's just fucking with noctis. )

No one'd expect the guy talking about seedy bars and gangs to actually be working their way up the corporate ladder.

[ The heat of the outdoors hits in a cruel, slow-moving wave that makes his limbs feel heavy. It'd be good to nap in, if he didn't think he'd get heat stroke. ]

Yeah? And maybe I'm doing the same thing. [ Fake name? Fake identity? Fake shared history? Well, he'd never meant to be deceptive but now he's questioning himself. So far he's three for three, but it doesn't seem to be hurting anyone. ]

It'd be way weirder to lie about illegal activity to hide your above-board ambition, though. Does that happen a lot where you're from? [ A pause. ] You're from Earth, right?

Nah, I'm from Saturn. ( said in the most serious fucking voice he can possibly manage about such a stupid ass lie. but whatever. it's down an alley, to an open gym. they have their own mats lying around, and jason pauses by the desk, asks to rent a room.

the safehouse would be a fine place to do this, or his own warehouse. but this is a nice, neutral zone. full of new amsterdam citizens where they can't get up to too much shit. it's playing it safe, for both him and noctis. probably best that way. )

Maybe I'm just saying all this bullshit to confuse you, too. Never know.

[ Jason, you're operating under the assumption that you have to use bullshit to confuse him when in reality he's lowkey confused all the time. ]

Saturn? [ ... ] Haven't met anyone else from there. How'd you meet Hafid, then?

[ He quiets when Jason speaks to the receptionist at the gym, taking in the scenery. Weird... Definitely a lot of machinery he's never worked with in his life, and the padding on the floor seems like a pretty generous courtesy. He's far too used to being slammed into hard wood paneling. ]

Don't you have to have a membership to do stuff at a gym?

Generally. I'm just borrowing a room. Figured it's safe enough here, and we're not going to get unwanted attention. ( leading noctis off to a room, it's--obvious this gym isn't in the best shape, but it's functional. still in one piece, even if it is falling apart a bit.

jason takes him off to one of the further rooms, starts kicking his boots off at the entrance. he floor itself is covered in padded mats; they're both already beat up enough, probably. )

It was a joke. ( god, noctis. he'd question who the hell falls for the saturn line, but honestly--given where they are, jason can't say it's surprising. ) 'm from the same place as Hafid is. Kinda.

[ Noctis is in all actuality staring even longer than he should, peering over at a few people just trying to work out in peace before they disappear from view. His first time in a gym. Kinda' weird; don't people end up wanting more privacy? He would. ]

... I'm from Eos. [ Which he should hope is enough explanation all on its own. He's learning the planets in this solar system one by one out of personal interest, but he's not about to rule out the possibility of some of them being colonized in other universes that aren't this one. ]

Ah, well, me and Prompto anyway. Makes it easy to remember since it's just the two of us. [ ... ] Would've been cool to hear about Saturn... [ goddamnit ]

Are you two friends?

( yeah, that explains it. eos doesn't sound familiar at all, so this guy's just. from some completely different, weird as fuck universe. okay. whatever. he won't tease noctis about planets anymore, it's not his fault he didn't know what the hell saturn was. )

Friends is. . ( a click of his tongue, and jason steps onto the mats. stretches arms with a thoughtful look on his face. ) We're brothers. Adopted, but brothers.

( closer than friends but also more distant. their relationship--probably doesn't make too much sense for people outside their own circle, that's something jason's well-aware of. hell, he was legally dead long before damian wayne came into bruce's life, but. )

He's our youngest.

[ Jason handles him not knowing much about Saturn far better than Damian took him not knowing about tigers. He makes a mental note. ]

"Our"? So I guess that means there's more of you. [ Noctis lets the information sink in, making it a point to turn away in a short little march over to an opposite corner before he's willing to give into the little smile that tugs at his features. ]

Cool. Seemed like he could use some extra people around, even if one's a giant troll. ... well, actually, that's probably even better. [ He toes off his shoes, feeling instinctively that dirtying the mats even more than is necessary might be frowned upon. ]

I'd say you could invite him out for the Chinese food too but it's pretty short notice.

There's a few of us here. ( information volunteered. it'll come out eventually. they're good at secrecy, not great at keeping all this shit from getting out, and his and damian's public fights have been loud enough to garner attention. he doubts he and dick'll be able to keep theirs quiet.

but jason's shifting, raising both arms up with hands curled into tight fists. gets into a defensive position. he's not great at this bit, but waiting to see what noctis is capable of is kind of his goal here. so jason'll wait. be patient. let him strike first. )

He's fine, don't think he likes the easy greasy shit anyway. ( with fingers moving out to gesture noctis in closer, brow raising. ) And I'm only a troll when I feel like it.

( so, all the time. )

[ Noctis rolls his shoulders as he again sizes up his opponent, taking their size difference well into account. For all his bluff and bluster? He assumes that this is going to hurt, but that's not a bad thing. As long as he can learn something new out of it, as Gladio would say... after mocking him relentlessly. ]

Well, you feel like it a lot. And yeah, I figured that too, but I forced him to eat some pastry and then he ordered himself a whole strudel, so... [ Yeah, skills. It's a long story full of harassment.

Noctis steps in closer, already instinctively compensating for his lighter figure with looser, slightly bent knees -- speed will be his main boon here and he has to be ready to dodge. Or, in this case, to strike, as a sudden dart forward and a left feint prove. The false start is abruptly cut off and transitioned into a drop low, leg sweeping out for near floor-level kick at Jason's legs. ]

( noctis is lighter, so he's faster. where as jason is capable of taking a shitton of hits, he can't quite move as noctis is: feinting easy and dropping down low to kick out his legs. jason lets it hit, doesn't try to back away and get out of the way and falls hard instead, ass hitting the mat with an oof right as a hand reaches out to try and grab on to an ankle, keep noctis from going too far away.

speed versus strength tends to fall to who gets the advantage first, doesn't it: distance over brute force. )

You got him to eat sweets? I'll have to congratulate you.

[ There's the swell of satisfaction when the hit lands but there's always a danger with him of that quickly bleeding over into a far more dangerous cockiness when it's unearned, mouth open to respond when his foot's snagged. It's lucky that he's already so close to the ground and doesn't have far to fall, willingly dropping down onto his back suddenly just to free up his other leg to kick at Jason's hand. ]

He's--

He's seriously not as hard to work with as he pretends he is. [ Noctis decided very early on that he's a big softie and so far that image has yet to be shaken. ]

( they're both down, which is fine. great, even. jason has an ankle in hand and he shoves it up some, uses the angle he's caught noctis at to his advantage and swings one of his own legs under it, tries to cross a calf over the thigh noct is trying to swing at him. use that to pin him down, a hip under jason's heel and other ankle caught by a firm fist. being on the ground means more focus on legs, less focus on noctis' arm and jason's. uh. recent trip to doctor hafid. if he can pin him down there, it'd take strain off both of them. )

Oh, I know. Kid acts like tough shit, but-- ( dropping his own upper half down so he can focus more attention, more weight onto hips and thighs. ) he just wants friends.

[ Noctis grunts at the sudden pressure on his hip, fixing the ceiling with a look of displeasure in lieu of aiming it at his opponent. Well. This is not especially dignified nor anything like how he usually fights, wrestling holds skipped over in favor of finishing sword combos and elemental manipulation techniques. Here's a chance to learn something new.

He tests the hold with a tense of each leg individually, holding steady. ]

Yeah, I figured. I was checking up on him, so... [ Friendship isn't something he doles out easily himself but that's for a lack of opportunity more than a lack of desire. Damian clearly needs a few more people around and Noctis doesn't mind the barbs so much.

Jason falls back just as Noctis pitches forward, bracing into the grip on his ankle to help hoist himself up into a strike of a fist aimed down at the larger man's midsection. ]

( no, this is fighting dirty which is exactly what is jason todd's field of expertise. noctis is fast, speedy and agile where jason isn't. down on the ground he has a better chance of effectively taking him out, since it limits movement. but this kid's swinging himself back up, aiming a fist for his gut and jason doesn't even bother trying to dodge it. instead, he takes the hit right on, gives a pained grunt when it (again, fucking noctis) hits right against fresh wounds. doesn't open them, but it still stings like fuck.

and uses the opportunity to try and grab hold of noctis' fist, swinging his free leg over the one his hand had been holding down.

trying to pin him down by both legs and a fist to give jason the opportunity to sit his fat ass down on top of narrow hips. )

That's cute. And sweet.

[ The reaction is more than he expected for such a simple punch, assuming it would be largely absorbed with a quick counterattack and possibly an unnecessary quip.

Well, there is an unnecessary quip, but it's considerably delayed and paired with another maneuver that seems designed to immobilize Noctis rather than do him any damage. Great. Somehow knuckles to his face would sting a little less than attempting to buck up against him and making zero headway does. ]

You're-- ugh, heavy... and if "sweet" was a joke about the strudel, it was lame... [ The attempt at a headbutt to follow, possibly when Jason is about to reply? Is not his finest moment in terms of thinking through consequences or sportsmanship, but his options are limited. ]

( yeah, see. jason would be throwing fists except this is just a match for fun, to gauge nocts' reactions and to figure out just how good is he is on his feet or. uh. off of them. whichever. his gut's still a little soft but he doesn't take noctis' own violent, fighty mannerisms as any reason to start getting fighty himself. )

You don't appreciate my puns? I'm hurt. Really.

( no he isn't. and jason has a thick, hard skull. hard enough that when he sees what this kid is aiming for he doesn't even try to dodge it, just shoves his own head forward to put just as much force behind his side as noctis is on his.

who will win the headbutt war? find out next episode. )

[ The crack of skulls is audible in the small room, an only mildly horrible sound that signals pain on one side or another. Noctis's entire brain feels rattled, skull humming down to the base of his neck, and still it isn't as jarring as the familiar pain that blossoms in his chest when he instinctively tries to call forth a portion of his magic. It's been especially hard for him to "turn off", so to speak, his powers from back home so intrinsically woven into his battle style that he's found himself attempting to use them without even thinking about it.

The combination of the two has him slumping back against the mats again, hand going first to his forehead to brush it before rubbing agitatedly at his chest. ]

... it's even lamer than the crusty memes... [ why, Ramuh, have you forsaken me ]

those who died are justified;

""matches"" ""malone""

""noct"" ""is""

""leave"" ""me""

""""""never""""""

okay fine stay

<3

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i'm glad they're able to have this serious convo while almost scissoring

look they're very serious boys. doing serious things.

nothing says "we need to talk about damian" like straddling and headbutts

this is how true men communicate, right

NO, JUST YOU, JASON

SHUT UP HE DOES WHAT HE WANTS

i hate this

you love it

okay fine i do

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