Realistic or Modern Oh So Golden

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper giggled at Marlon's voice, but it quickly turned into a gasp as the stuffed cat was revealed. Carefully, Casper took the cat, immediately starting to pet it... and then pet it some more. He brought the cat up to his nose, sniffing it, then inhaling its scent deeply.

He nodded to what Marlon said, eyes glued on the stuffed animal as he finally pulled it away from his nose, asking, "Do they have a name?" He was so busy with that he didn't notice anything strange about the lower barn at all.

Casper finally looked up... and gasped, eyes widening as he held the cat close, taking another step into the room after toeing off his shoes. He dropped his bag by the couch, kneeling to rest the cat in it carefully.

 

[Navarro]

Making Casper laugh? That warmed Marlon’s heart. He was delighted by their reaction to the kitty. He couldn't keep up the silly voice, and switched back to being warm and giggly. “Actually, they don’t have a name… Yet.”

The tag the cat came with said its name was “Peaches,” and Marlon knew that. But that would’ve taken away from what Marlon wanted to instill. Casper already had so many impositions upon his life, Marlon thought. He found it tough to imagine still having to deal the pressures of school, strict parents, bullies, a missing brother, and not even being allowed to have your own cat. Marlon wanted to give them a little island of autonomy, however small it was – even if it was just the name of a stuffed cat.

He took a seat beside Casper, and nuzzled their neck. “I was thinking you’d give them a name. They’re your cat now, after all!”

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper couldn't help but gasp at the nuzzles. He wanted to turn, to pet him, to kiss him, but he stopped himself. The cat naming was more important.

This was important to him. It had to be something that wouldn't be easily forgotten, or too uppity. It had to be something sweet, like the gift. Something he liked...

Finally, Casper decided, leaning just a tad into Marlon, "...Strawberry. Strawberries are good..."

 

[Navarro]

He loved the way it felt when Casper leaned in. “Strawberry! Nice.” He hugged their arm. “I bet you’d like the strawberries we grow around here every spring.”

Marlon didn’t realize it, but he was doing what his mother noted – thinking about the future. Not just any future; one with Casper. He reached out and pet Strawberry, then guided his hand over to Casper’s. “I’m so glad you like the kitty.”

He couldn’t believe all this was happening – and so fast, too. If he should have learned anything from his job, it’s that things that go fast tend fly out of control and crash. Although Marlon wasn’t the most perceptive person, even he recognized that this relationship – these feelings could slip away, and he’d be right back where he was before. He knew that he needed to prove himself, to establish himself as useful.

Marlon gave a contented sigh and squeezed Casper’s hand. “If only you knew the things I’d do to make you happy.”

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper's eyes lit up, and he grinned. "You get strawberries?" Casper was a fan of fresh grown strawberries, perhaps because of trips to pick them in his youth, back when things weren't quite as bad- Back when Aaron was still around.

He was still smiling as he nodded. "I like them a lot..."

Marlon wasn't the only one eager to affirm his usefulness. Casper wanted Marlon to think he was worth keeping around, and couldn't quite shake the idea that their femininity, when combined with their bad grades, made them worthless- or at the least, worth very little.

He kept smiling as his hand was squeezed, lost a bit in his thoughts as he squeezed back, silent.

 

[Navarro]

“…I didn’t know how much I liked strawberries until I tasted homegrown ones. Raf’s mum makes some amazing strawberry freezer jam.” He enjoyed the hand squeeze in return. But Casper’s silence left Marlon unsettled. Don’t you want anything I have to offer? Marlon thought, tilting his head.

Marlon thought it was so fitting that Casper’s plushie friend was a unicorn; in his eyes, Casper was a unicorn themselves. They were the prettiest person Marlon had ever seen; they made incredible art, too. Marlon didn’t even think about their grades; he hadn’t given grades much thought since he dropped out of school. And how could someone under so much pressure be so sweet? It took inner strength and resolve for Casper to be their genuine self in the face of harassment and bullying. He admired that. Marlon, on the other hand, lived with the nagging shame that he ran from his bullies – at least for a while. To this day, he hid himself under layers of muscle, leather, and a badge; it was all camouflage to keep the guys at work from picking on him.

What do I even have to offer? Marlon searched his mind for something that he was actually good at, something that made him worthy of a unicorn’s attention. Casper was such a good kisser; Marlon, on the other hand, was shy and woefully inexperienced with such things, and doubted he could satisfy anyone. He was decent enough at woodworking, and as a pianist, his enthusiasm and showmanship almost made up for his mediocre playing. Violence was the only thing he truly excelled at, but deep down, he knew that was nothing to be proud of. It wasn't a thing he could proudly share, like baking a beautiful cake or painting a breathtaking picture. No, if anyone found out, he’d once again be seen as a monster. He couldn’t bear to have Casper think of him as a monster.

He nuzzled Casper. This time, he’d pose it as a question. “Isn’t there anything that I can do for you..?”

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper nodded, thinking about how good that jam might taste.

He blinked, drawn out of his thoughts by Marlon's question. He almost asked him to repeat it, but then he got it. "But you've already done a lot for me," Casper said. "I'd feel bad."

 

[Navarro]

Huh? I’ve done nothing, Marlon thought. He didn’t see what there was to feel bad about. For a moment, he pulled back slightly, worrying that he was coming on too strong, too needy. He had to shift gears, and after a second of hesitation, his mind went to their conversation from earlier.

“Well… Um… What was it that you wanted to show me?” Marlon was trying to keep the question open. Perhaps Casper wanted to reveal more about the mysterious Jasper and Ophelia, or maybe they wanted to get on to other activities. He didn’t know – this was completely uncharted territory, and the unknown always put him on edge.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper nodded. Right, he had promised to show Marlon some things. Casper smiled a bit, turning to Marlon and starting to kiss him.

~`*`~​

Casper kissed Marlon again before pulling away. "So...?"

 

[Navarro]

Marlon smiled and kissed Casper back, a little more confident this time.

When Casper was done, he was left speechless. He ran his hand through their hair, "You were amazing."

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper let out a huff of relief as he smiled to Marlon. Logically, Casper knew he was good- people told him often enough. But hearing Marlon say it was different. It felt like a reassurance that yes, he was worth something, even if this was that something. Maybe Marlon would keep him around.

"You really think so?"

 

[Navarro]

“Hah, yeah!” Marlon said, almost giddy. "That was incredible!" He pulled Casper in close for a hug. "Thank...you," He said, as odd as it sounded.

Admittedly, he had no partners to compare them to, but he felt amazing all the same. Adding to that, the physical intimacy and the fact that it was Casper made this an experience he’d never forget. Then Marlon’s thoughts turned to his own behavior. This was a new kind of vulnerability for him – and it scared him to think that he might’ve messed it up.

“…Did I do okay?” Marlon asked with a nervous laugh.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper hugged back, humming happily.

Then he asked that, and he pulled a bit away, a serious look on his face as he nodded. "You were amazing."

To be fair, Casper wasn't used to having a partner who actually cared about taking care of them, so their experience in that area was skewed.

 

[Navarro]

“Oh, good!” Marlon breathed a sigh of relief, laughing a bit. He knew he was clueless, but it was important to him that Casper had a good time, too.

He threw his arm around them, and planted a little kiss on their neck. This was all uncharted territory for Marlon, but he was reassured by Casper’s experience.

Yet his mind kept returning to the beautiful androgynous person in the sketchbook. “So, I’ve been wondering…” His voice trailed off, hesitating a little. “What’s the story of Jasper and Ophelia?”

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper hummed happily, quickly smiling again as his hand moved to rest on Marlon's head. If he was a cat, he'd be purring.

He paused, opening his eyes when Marlon mentioned Jasper and Ophelia, smile growing sad. He began to pet Marlon's hair.

"Well... their dad is... not good. He hurts them." Casper began to nuzzle Marlon's head. "He knows they do nasty things but... he encourages it, and does nasty things to them, too. Ophelia cleans a lot, and when she does bad, Mortimer hurts her. She tried to run away once, but that didn't go so well... Mortimer locked her in the basement. He does things to her there. He's not... he's not nice." He stared at the wall.

 

[Navarro]

Marlon always enjoyed having his hair petted. Smiling, he looked up at Casper and listened to the story of the siblings.

Wow, that was dark, he thought. So dark it made him a little nervous, for reasons he couldn’t quite understand. He understood – and perhaps, encouraged – Rafael’s violent impulses that he expressed in his stories, but Casper’s darkness was a mystery. But things were starting to click into place for Marlon – two siblings, one that tried to run. How ‘Jasper’ rhymed with ‘Casper.’ And how Casper’s parents weren’t fans of having the police around…

Despite being cops, Marlon and Raf limited their contact with their police comrades – and that’s because they got up to some less-than-legal activities. Marlon had figured that Casper’s family may have gotten up to some not-so-medical marijuana usage, but nothing of any concern.

He knew it was normal for people to draw upon and exaggerate their lives when creating; he’d seen it firsthand with Rafael’s art and writing. And Marlon’s concerns were purely based on intuition – he didn’t have a shred of evidence, and he wouldn’t dare accuse someone of a crime based on a hunch. But he had to play it cool, and treat it solely as a work of creative writing and artistic inspiration.

Mortimer’s actions turned his stomach. But that’s the hallmark of a good villain, right? He encountered people like that at his job. If there was ample evidence of their crimes, they ended up on The List. Yet he managed to keep his face neutral throughout, eagerly listening.

“Man, Mortimer sounds like a pretty messed up dude.” He pulled out his Zippo lighter to fidget with the lid. “But that’s a really fascinating story. So do the kids ever get free?”

Of everything in the story, that was what he cared about most.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper nodded, then smiled, then... paused. This was a question Casper hadn't anticipated. In all honesty, Casper hadn't thought about it too heavily- His characters barely had a middle to their story, let alone a beginning and an end.

"...I don't know," he admitted, "but..."

Quiet for a second, Casper gathered himself, starting to frown. "I don't think so."

 

[Navarro]

It broke Marlon’s heart to hear that Jasper and Ophelia were still being abused. He took it a little harder than most fictional tragedies, and he couldn’t help but have it show through in his expression. He furrowed his brow, and frown crossed his face before he caught himself.

But he picked himself up and regained his smile, “Well, their story’s not over yet, now is it?”

He didn’t want to push the subject too much, but he had to know. “Do you think they would like for someone to rescue them?”

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper thought for a moment. It was hard for him, thinking of his characters in the context of a story. He frowned a bit, thoughtful. "I guess not." He kind of wished their story was over, something with a definite beginning and end, but he was still unsure what he was doing with them, unaware of how much of his own life he was projecting.

He blinked, then nodded. "Of course they wanna be rescued. Mortimer's bad and hurts them."

 

[Navarro]

“Well, that makes sense.” Marlon nodded, still fidgeting with his lighter. Wrapping his arm around Casper, he pulled him close for a kiss on the cheek. “I’d rescue them, if I could.”

He mused under his breath, “Maybe that’s what I’d draw, if I could draw.”

“So, tell me…” His voice trailed off as he tried to figure out how to phrase his question. He recalled that Casper said he shouldn’t feel too bad about the bad things that happen to Jasper and Ophelia because they’re “not good.” Then, be extension, we shouldn’t feel too bad about anything that bad that happened to Mortimer.

Hesitation laced his voice, but he asked anyway. ”Do you think people like Mortimer should be punished?”

 

[mikaluvkitties]

He let out a nervous giggle as his cheek was kissed. "You shouldn't. They deserve it. They're bad..." For a second, Casper simply sat, relaxing.

As Marlon started speaking again, however, he perked up, listening intently, eyes focused on Marlon. After the question was asked, he cocked his head, thinking. Mortimer was bad, but... Mortimer hurt bad people... but he also encouraged bad actions...

After a couple of minutes, he nodded.

 

[Navarro]

Marlon loved Casper’s giggle. He sat in silent contemplation, considering what Casper said.

“You know, sometimes… People who do bad things can get better.” Marlon spoke at a steady, deliberate pace. “Sometimes, it’s just about getting them a safe distance from the people that push them to do wrong.”

He set the lighter down and scratched his head. “It can take a while, it takes effort, but people can heal.”

“I like it when people heal.” He voice was calm, but with one hand, he was fidgety. It was like he was twirling an invisible pencil. “I don’t think we should throw people away ‘cause they’ve done some bad stuff. The big question is why.”

“But yeah… The real bad people – the ones who push everyone else into doing bad shit – they’re the ones that gotta be held accountable.” Marlon said, staring off into the distance, revisiting his own actions. “I’m around a lot of dangerous people. But the pushers, you know? They’re the worst. ”

He knew. He was one of them.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

He listened to Marlon speak, thinking on it. "But... They still did something bad..."

 

[Navarro]

“Well, everybody does bad stuff sometimes.” Marlon said, shrugging. “Doesn’t mean they can’t change.”

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper pursed their lips. He was right, but... There were some things that couldn't just be forgiven, right? Some actions so horrible they'd be carried with the person for forever, that the person could never really recover from being bad.

"...But what about when it's really bad?"