Cole smiled, opening his mouth to speak again until he heard Alluma's voice. Or more accurately, felt the words in his mind. If Itzal's arm hadn't been looped over him, he would've jumped up, instead, he just froze, processing what happened before sagging against the god. "I think that's the sign that you have to go," He said softly, though he didn't move from where he was laying. Cole didn't want him to leave, even if he had to. The gods could wait a few moments more.
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"It would seem so," Itzal sighed heavily, also not moving. Alluma said the gods were waiting for him, but he suspected that only Alluma was actually waiting for him. The other gods probably wouldn't care if he was a little bit late. "I'm sorry I have to go so soon," he murmured, pressing soft kisses to Cole's forehead and cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise." Itzal shifted slightly, running a thumb over Cole's cheek and pressing a kiss on his jaw.
"You don't have to promise, I trust you'll be back whenever you're finished," He replied, leaning into the touch with a hum, "Please be safe." If the gods had been scattered so much by the beings before, he only hoped they would be more prepared this time. With Itzal leading them, he was confident things would go better, but there was still a hint of worry in his mind. Cole met Itzal's eyes and smiled gently, debating asking for a kiss. If he was sure Alluma wasn't going to make another sudden appearance, there would be no debate, but the god of dreams seemed to like to appear at the strangest of times.
"Mmm, I will be," Itzal promised, pulling away just enough to stare into Cole's eyes. "And, uh, I'll talk to Alluma about his popping in and out without warning. I know his… everything can be a little startling." Itzal sighed, knowing that Alluma would probably come right back in a few minutes if he didn't start moving. "Speaking of him… I should probably start to make motions towards leaving." Itzal's voice was full of disappointment, but he managed a smile for Cole. "Could you spare me a kiss for good luck?" He asked, a bit of laughter glittering in his eyes.
Cole couldn't help but laugh lightly while he nodded, "If you could talk to him…that would be nice. It's a little unnerving to just have him show up." He sighed at the mention of Itzal having to leave but made an effort to detangle himself from the other, even sitting up slightly. At the mention of sparing a kiss, he smiled, "I think I could spare one…if you think Alluma isn't going to come bother you for taking too long."
"I will." Itzal grinned at Cole. "I think I still have a little more time… and if he does, I'll get him out of here as quickly as possible. But I don't think he'll come." Itzal sighed softly, sending Alluma a mental warning to stay away, paired with a promise to be over there as soon as he could. That should keep him away long enough for Itzal to properly say goodbye to Cole. Itzal brought his other hand up to Cole's cheek, cradling his face in his hands. For a second, he just stared into Cole's face with a soft expression. Stars, he was acting as though he would never see him again. Itzal let out a breathy laugh and leaned forward, eyes sliding shut as he gently pressed his lips to Cole's.
Cole let out a breath as their lips met, his eyes closed as he took in the moment. He knew he would see Itzal again, but it still felt like he was saying goodbye forever. Until the beings were taken care of, it was goodbye. Reminding himself of that fact, he let the kiss linger, only pulling away when he needed to get a breath in. "I know I said it before…but be safe," He mumured, their faces only inches apart, "I don't need to loose you so soon after meeting you."
Itzal's eyes slid shut, focusing on nothing but Cole. His warmth, the safety Itzal felt when he was with him, his perfect heartbeat. As Cole pulled away, Itzal let his eyes stay shut for a moment longer, just savoring the moment. "I will be. And you stay safe as well, alright?" Itzal said, opening his eyes to stare into Cole's face. "Don't worry, nobody will be losing anyone. I promise you that." Itzal would do everything that he could to get back to Cole unharmed. He didn't want to burden the man with more worries.
“I’ll hold you to that,” He said with a smile, nodding, “I’ll stay safe.” Cole pressed a kiss to Itzal’s cheek, then another to his nose. “I suppose you should go soon…but can I have one more kiss first?” He met Itzal’s eyes, a gentle smile on his face. If there was time, he wished he could spend more time saying goodbye, but he had a feeling that Alluma would pop in if they took too much longer.
(btw, I'm going on vacation and probably won't be able to respond very often this week. :)
Itzal hummed, his lips pulling up at Cole's soft kisses. Stars, the feel of his lips against his skin was such a perfect sensation. "Hmm, maybe…" Itzal sighed, grinning at Cole. "I can always spare time for a kiss, though." He wove his fingers into Cole's hair and slowly leaned forward, pressing his lips against Cole's. Gently at first, and then Itzal found himself leaning into it. Why did he have to leave? Why did those beings have to come after the gods? He just wanted to be able to enjoy his time with this beautiful, wonderful man. He wanted to get to know every little, lovely thing about him. He wanted to taste his brownies, maybe even help him make them. He just… stars, he was being ridiculous. He had a job to do and he would do it… as soon as he finished saying goodbye to Cole.
(No worries! I'm with family all of this week and on vacation next week so my responses will be spotty!)
Cole's eyes lit up as Itzal agreed to another kiss and he leaned in, meeting his lips halfway. He let Itzal set the pace of the kiss, though he was far from disappointed as Itzal leaned further into the kiss, giving him the opportunity to do the same. Gently, he grabbed his shirt, keeping himself pulled close to the god. He tried to remind himself that Itzal had to leave and that he shouldn't get swept up in the feeling of his lips, but it felt so natural to kiss him. If Itzal decided to see him again after he dealt with the beings, he was sure he could get used to it. Until then though, Cole was going to take his time saying goodbye, with or without the threat of Alluma showing up again.
(Alright! Have fun! :)
Itzal let out a soft sigh against Cole's mouth and just barely pulled away. Stars, he didn't want to leave. But he'd stolen as much time as he possibly could and Alluma wouldn't listen to him forever. Itzal pressed a soft kiss on the corner of Cole's mouth and another on his jaw. "I think Alluma will actually drag me out of here if I stay much longer," he murmured into Cole's neck. Itzal sighed again and pulled away just enough to look at Cole. "So… I guess this is goodbye for now." He brushed his thumb over Cole's cheek and smiled. "I'll be back before you know it."
"I guess it is…" He murmured, finally accepting that Itzal had to leave, "I'll hold you to that." Cole leaned into the touch and met his eyes, a sad but hopeful smile on his face, "There's a spare key hidden under the rock pile on the left side of the door if I'm not home, and since my neighbors are nosey enough to know who frequents my house, I'll get a call from them if you're there when I'm not home." He turned his head and pressed a kiss to Itzal's palm. "When you come back, my door is always open. If any of the other gods want to stop by, they're more than welcome too as well." Cole figured gods would be able to get in without the key, but he wanted to tell him anyway. It made him feel a little better about having to go separate ways.
A warm feeling spread through Itzal's chest. He didn't know why it meant so much that Cole was telling him where he hid the key, but Itzal couldn't help but press a soft, lingering kiss to Cole's forehead. "Thank you, Cole." He sighed, reluctantly pulling back. "Heh, alright. I'll let them know." Itzal laughed softly and stood. He didn't think half of the gods would ever take Cole up on his offer, but if they ever wanted to come over, they'd be able to. As long as he went with them, of course. Who knew what crazy things the other gods might do in the presence of Cole? He'd supervise them first, just in case. Itzal gave Cole one last smile before vanishing in an instant. If he waited around any longer it would be even harder to leave. It was strange to use his godly powers again, but he supposed he'd have to get used to it. He'd be using them a lot more now.
Cole stood when Itzal did, smiling gently as he watched the god disappear. It was strange, to see him there one moment and simply gone the next. It made the space feel empty, without Itzal there. He sighed softly before looking around the room, grabbing his few belongings and glancing at the sword. It felt wrong to leave it here, and he felt safer bringing it with him, but he didn't pick it up. Without Itzal's power, there was a chance that people could see it now, and there was no way to explain the sudden appearance of a sword, definitely not on the ride back to his house.
He stared at it for a moment before grabbing it, bringing it close, and squinting at it as if he could tell if others would know what it was. Dissatisfied with his finding that he indeed couldn't tell if it was visible, he decided to bring it with. Checking around the room once more for anything left behind, he slipped the room key into his pocket and waited for just a moment. There was no reason for him to wait before leaving, but he did so anyway. Mostly to give himself time to think of what the easiest way to get home would be.
(sorry for the wait, finals week is almost on me and all the things are happening. :)
Itzal didn't really know where he was going–his home had been destroyed, as far as he knew–so he just followed traces of Alluma's presence until he finally found the actual god. Itzal appeared in the midst of what sounded like an argument. Voices were overlapping so much he couldn't figure out what they were so angry about, though.
"Oh stars, he's here!" Elief was the first to notice him and immediately jumped into his arms.
"Ah, careful!" Zoei appeared at his side, placing a steadying hand on his back. "I'm glad you're back, Itzal."
"Glitter!" A cloud of fine, very sparkly rainbow glitter got thrown into his face, announcing the appearance of Lazare.
"Lazare, what have we said about throwing glitter in people's faces?" Itzal sighed, carefully extracting himself from Elief and Zoei's arms.
"Don't do it!" Lazare giggled, tossing another handful of glitter onto Finlai's head. She growled and swatted at them, but they managed to dance out of the way.
"Lazare!" Itzal shot them a sharp glare. Stars, he'd forgotten how crazy they were. How crazy they all were. But they were together. He couldn't be mad at any of them for too long.
(all good, I'm in the same boat here…also…do you mind if we do a timeskip? I'm not sure what to do with Cole, unless you have some story you need to step up with Itzal? If you do I can think of something)
(Cool! And yeah, timeskip away! I'm pretty sure if we kept going there would be nothing but arguing for most of the time. :)
(alrighty! any ideas on where to jump to? possibly drama with the beings? or with Cole?)
(Um, maybe drama with the beings and Cole? Maybe the beings come for the sword?)
(Ok I’ll get something up in the morning! If you have anything specific you want to happen feel free to say it and I’ll work it into my post)
(Alright! And I don't have anything. Go wild! :)
Timeskip
It had been three days since Cole had seen Itzal, and he had yet to see any beings. He pushed himself to get back into the swing of his usual routine, ignoring anyone who asked where he had disappeared to. It was tough, going from meeting the god to getting back to normal, but he pushed himself to do so, mostly to keep himself from thinking of the beings. And it worked. As he got home from work, no thoughts of beings crossed his mind.
Unlocking his front door, he walked in without fear, though his eyes darted towards his couch, checking that the sword he propped up against it was still there. While he hadn't thought of the beings outright, he was always worried that he would find his sword gone, a sure sign that the beings were there. No human beside him could see the sword - he had found that out on his ride home the morning Itzal left. Breathing a sigh of relief, he closed his door behind him, dumping his bag next to the door and kicking off his shoes. With less worry in his mind, he headed for the kitchen, turning his back to his front door, trying to think up something to make for dinner.
It was only a second later that he heard his door open. Thinking at first that he was hearing things, he ignored it, until his curiosity got the better of him. Turning back around, his eyes widened instantly. For good reason. Standing in his doorway were two beings. With the same wicked crowns on their head. His eyes darted to his sword, but he stayed where he was, the being's attention fully on him. What they were here for, he couldn't guess, but he could only hope they weren't going to kill him.
(By the way, I'm visiting family next week so I probably won't be able to respond very quickly. :)
Itzal had been busy the second he'd returned to the other gods. Caught up in a mess of plans and discussions, he hadn't had a moment to spare. Even more so once they actually started searching out the beings. Although the other gods still couldn't do much to the beings, Itzal could. The other gods were confused about how he was able to suddenly go against the beings, but he just shrugged it off. He wasn't all that ready to face against the reason for such power, and he'd have to in order to tell the other gods. So he just didn't.
"Itzal, are you ready?" Elief peeked around the doorframe. "A group of beings just appeared in a really weird place."
"Yeah," Itzal said, carefully arranging his features into a smile before he turned towards Elief. The headaches that had plagued him since the cave still hadn't gone away, but he didn't want to let the other gods know. He was the one who was supposed to be worrying about them, not the other way around. "Tell me the place."
Stars. No. Itzal hadn't imagined this was where the beings would show up, but here he was. Standing on the lawn, the same place he'd crashed into. Cole's house. The beings were at Cole's house. Why? Itzal started running towards the door. It was open, which didn't bode well. Why were they here? Had they already killed Cole? No, that couldn't happen. It couldn't. He wouldn't let it. Itzal skidded to a stop in the doorway, looking around wildly for any evidence of the beings. "Cole!" He shouted, his voice taking on an edge of panic.