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[vexant]

@HELLION

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[goldtoxicity]

[ oh, yes. very nice, very wakeful. ]

Dude, I was out of my mind horny. You're the only one I fuck around with.

[vexant]

Yeah, we both know how well that's going to keep up. Look--I don't care. Just not that asshole.

( because teddy made him mad and then he couldn't even beat him up to feel better. )

[goldtoxicity]

I wouldn't have done it if I'd known what an asshole he'd been to you.

[ though you know... shapeshifters have fascinating biology. ]

Won't happen again. I promise.

[vexant]

Whatever. ( rolling alll the way over and off. )

Get out of my bed.

[goldtoxicity]

[ wow he just offered to regrow your HANDS.

okay, fine. okay. getting to his feet and heading for the shower he guesses??? ]

[vexant]

( is josh so used to julian telling him he smells that he automatically heads to the shower when julian tells him to fuck off? like. conditioning josh to shower was part of the plan but not this intensely.

one of his hands reaches out. grabs hold of josh's wrist. )

You're leaving?

[goldtoxicity]

I should probably wake up?

[ what do you want he smells like your sleep sweat.

He's got half a morning routine that's better than sleeping all the time and being in bed all day ]

[vexant]

( the eyeroll he gives is mostly because julian has to be julian, not because josh is wrong. the hand releases him and waves josh off, while julian turns to the dresser to sift through his clothes. )

Don't use all the hot water.

[goldtoxicity]

[ he waves it off. ]

Gotcha. I'll keep it quick.

[vexant]

( well, fine. whatever. josh goes to shower, julian--gets himself dressed and starts sifting through their food stash for snacks. since it's not like there's anything better to do in hell. he's not going out there, who the hell knows what crazy shit lies beyond their dorm-ish room today. )

[goldtoxicity]

[ hello hello hello he's out and toweling off, grabbing some clean clothes out of the drawer.

Give him a second to put on pants before he turns and asks: ]

When do you want to do it?

[vexant]

( yes, thank you for putting on pants like a proper person instead of wandering around nude. julian appreciates it.

not that he isn't already used to josh being a weirdo. anyway--

after shoving a handful of chips into his mouth, )

Now?

[goldtoxicity]

Okay.

[ he's a little nervous. this could backfire, this could seriously hurt julian. where did all this faith in him come from?

then again, he remembers julian was the one to break him out of his coma the first time. promising that he was more than a killer, that he was a healer, and... he'd been right. he'd saved laura that time. ]

Come here.

[vexant]

( it could. josh could fuck up, julian's insides could be even more messed up than before. he could lose more internal organs, more of his arms. or die. or whatever. but here julian is: stepping closer to josh and holding out his arms anyway.

like this is a totally safe thing to do and not going to fuck him over in the slightest. partially because he trusts josh, partially because it's not like his hands can get much worse. they're not there. )

How many limbs have you regrown?

[goldtoxicity]

A lot.

[ he reaches out to touch julian's forearms. it's a gentle touch, the pads of his fingers glowing as he allows his powers to activate and truly suss out julian's anatomy. ]

Wings, arms, legs, organs...

[vexant]

Ick.

( there's no heat behind it. the muscle under josh's fingers--twitches. but doesn't do anything else. julian takes in a deep, steadying breath. )

[goldtoxicity]

[ he licks his lips, takes in a breath, and then he's in his element. ]

I'm going to turn off the nerves in your arms. It's going to feel really weird, but it will feel worse if you feel me doing this. Just... breathe, and trust me. Okay? I'll take care of you.

[vexant]

( he holds that breath for a moment. then lets it out nice and slow. lets his shoulders relax along with it and--closes his eyes.

because he really doesn't want to even imagine what hands regrowing looks like. )

Yeah. I trust you.

( josh has physical contact with him. there's no tell, no tensing, no twitching--it isn't a lie. )

[goldtoxicity]

[ It warms his heart. Gives him enough levity to grin a big goofy grin, and then his own eyes are shutting.

There isn't much to see in terms of regrowth. The glow from Josh's power is absolutely blinding, and the power itself is no longer the gentle stream of a young mutant learning their craft - it's a torrent. Precise, powerful, and utterly overwhelming.

Josh carefully constructs from the body's memory. Trying to pull information from where he can, imperfections and flaws, every whorl of his fingerprint, to make sure they're well and truly his and not poor imitations. Its hard. It's an old wound that's long since healed over, something that had always seemed so daunting to him when he'd been younger and faced with Karma's missing leg or the broken bodies of all those who fell on Genosha.

He knows better now.

It feels like it takes hours, but in actuality he doesn't imagine it takes more than a few minutes. ]

[vexant]

( he keeps his eyes closed while the glow continues getting brighter. squeezes them shut even--to try and ignore it. tries his damned best to stay as still as possible even though he knows moving isn't something that's likely to effect it.

the bright glow dulls until it's gone entirely and julian--takes a breath in. slowly, slowly opens his eyes. looks down to where josh has his hands on his arms still. wrinkles his nose at the sight of hands attached to forearms.

something that shouldn't be foreign but is. )

Ah.

[goldtoxicity]

[ josh's touch to the new hands is incredibly gentle, holding them delicately between his own. slowly he fires them up. keeping them all carefully numb as he restarts nerves and muscle, doing what he can to ease the transition from phantom limb to solid flesh and bone.

then he gives them the faintest of squeezes. ]

How does it feel?

[vexant]

( honestly? weird. he's had--that whole year to get used to not having them. to doing shit without using tiny little bony parts. has adjusted to making sure he gets clothes with short sleeves, that when he goes to do his morning routine he makes sure he's awake enough to focus on it instead of the blind groping around he'd done as a teen.

josh squeezes, and he winces. not because it hurts but because it's weird. fingers twitch, then thumbs. don't grip but-- )

Different than I expected.

[goldtoxicity]

It'll take getting used to. Your body adapted to being without them, so, like... you'll need to learn how to handle them again. I did what I could to bridge the gap, but getting used to having sensation and stuff again - that's gonna come with time.

[ glances up, his smile gentle and reassuring. ]

[vexant]

( his arms still feel normal, even if the hands attached are new. julian--takes in a breath, pauses.

raises those hands up to press palms against josh's face, even if it's a little clumsy and he doesn't quite cup his cheeks as he had been intending to. they rest there instead, pressure soft. )

Thanks.

[goldtoxicity]

[ he shuts his eyes, enjoys the sensation. tendons and muscles flexing, nerves sending their feedback to the brain. he should've been there to heal julian to begin with... how long was the recovery process? even if he'd adapted to life without his hands, how long had it actually taken for those wounds to properly mend? let alone the psychological scars that clearly hadn't.

he brings his hands up to cover julians. ]

Any time.