revivalproject

Entry tags:

Outage

WHO: Tony and fellow 10s exclusively.
WHERE: Heading to the power plant, open to suggestions
WHAT: Tony gets into the civil engineering game, for his own purposes. He has disrupted the grid. Sorry.
WHEN: Now? Whenever you're ready?
WARNINGS: Thread is horny.
SOME NOTES: This is a blackout that I didn't really intend to last very long, but that's up to you. If you want to use it to do some power outage shenanigans, let me and/or Hux know and we'll stay distracted from fixing the problem.

network
[Shortly after all of the power seems to cut abruptly, whether or not anyone noticed or were peacefully asleep in the dark, absolutely everyone receives a direct, private text message at the same time.]
I will fix it. Not a problem.

problem solving
It was inevitable that this would become a problem, but Tony didn't anticipate it happening this fast. There was a whole city out there that, presumably, had been run on this very same grid when fully populated. How was he supposed to know that the entire alien power load was only built to anticipate a single Gamecube and a dinky water display? D.A.T.A. was still smoking in the dark from the surge when Tony wandered dejectedly back into the workshop, no luck fixing the outage locally-- this wasn't a fuse problem. It was everyone's problem.

At least one thing was obviously not part of the same grid; the network hadn't gone down for Tony, and while that was further bad news in the long run, he could take the blessing to try to address the issue before anyone got hysterical about it. He sent out the mass text as he tore the data spheres down from their suspension and meticulously worked in the low light from the simmering forge to feel for the heat and melted warp, and gut the most damaged pieces, leaving them spread blindly on the workbench. That was really going to fuck up his schedule.

He knew where the power plant was, kind of, in theory, and it wasn't a trek he was eager to take without the full light of day on his side, but it wasn't like he was getting anything else done here. It would be faster than it looked, he could run, there was probably a generator up there and the way was going to be brightly lit and not an dark, creepy forest at all. Deep breath. Tony grabbed his jacket and his tool belt and started across town.

Elsewhere, the hum of power had gone silent, lights winked out, and the steady bubbling of the fountain at the centre of the city murmured to a stop, until the surface of the water was still as glass.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If he only asked, Reeve would be quite content to tell Tony that there was no obligation to go the distance of making it sting, of making him feel restrained. Not that it isn't nice, isn't insanely arousing. But one didn't get to be his age, all jokes aside, without learning to be flexible with a lover. Then again, perhaps this is just Tony exercising the same consideration. Therefore, he will not judge. Merely moan, his hips jerking in the cool air, desperately seeking friction that will not come.

"Time with you is never a punishment," Reeve counters, but his voice wavers some, shivers. The attention is definitely breaking down his restraint. "Positive reinforcement teaches better. Rewards for good behavior and the like."

Of course Tony was happy to indulge him, the moan enough to make his own breath hitch and press his tongue to his teeth, smile spreading at the frayed edges finally creeping into Reeve's voice. That triumph had his hand stilling on Reeve's belly, holding him steady for Tony to press himself to Reeve's back and shamelessly rut against him with his own shudder and doting murmur he tried to press into Reeve's neck. "Now we're lying to each other?" he managed to laugh eventually, under no illusions that his company was easy, and let his grin bite blindly into the skin of Reeve's neck, scraping down to his shoulder. He wasn't sure if denial was Reeve's game, too, but it wasn't one he could maintain, fingers already flexing eagerly by then and sliding down to wrap around him again to stroke in time with another roll of his hips. Leaving an apologetic kiss where the red scratch of his teeth ended at Reeve's shoulder, he said, "So, what, you're going to call me after a good night's sleep?" Giving a squeeze to his braced arm to pull it tighter, Tony nosed Reeve's jaw to coax his head to the side, a long stretch of his neck for Tony to growl darkly against it, "Tony," not mimicking Reeve this time but a scratchy, hungry burr, "I just had the best dream where you fucked me into the mattress and I'm rock hard already, do you have breakfast plans?"

"Not lying," Reeve counters. "Time with you is never dull."

Okay, so maybe he was annoyed at the whole conversation over Mini-C, but he had considered even their wandering to try and solve his pain problem was fine. He did enjoy Tony's company. Moreso with the bite.

The stroking earns another gasp and his hips jerking forward, seeking the friction.

"You're not nearly as funny as you think," he groans, and he pushes back against Tony, seeking to grind against him. He's not the only one that should feel good right now. "You could always come by. Check in on me at night. Distract me. My door is open for you.

That assurance was about the nicest thing anyone had said to Tony since arriving here. Not even the dig at his sense of humour could stop Tony from starting to giggle, losing his already weak grasp on the domineering character he thought he was working on to release Reeve's arm and pillow his fall as Tony tipped them over into the moss, unable to get any closer to Reeve and trying to reach for more of him all at once instead to polish with affection. Tony kissed his way down Reeve's shoulder from there, nuzzling under his arm to persuade Reeve to twist toward him and nip across his chest, murmuring all the while without trying to hide it anymore, "How have you kept anyone's hands off of you? You're exquisite. If you don't lock that door, I'll be there every night, I could find something new to admire for the next six months and not get bored..." He had wound his leg around Reeve's to pull him over, and cut himself off with a moan as he pressed against Reeve's hip that made him start to laugh again, reminded sharply of desperate fumbling in college and how obviously starry eyed he must have been to the people who let him grind against them then. He wasn't going to be able to convince himself much had changed if he kept talking, so he put his mouth to better use against Reeve's skin and tried to keep him distracted in the warm massage of his fist.

It's like everything changes in a second, and frankly? Reeve doesn't mind at all. He loves the amusement that is suddenly brought into it, and the touches feel so much more honest like this. It's like Tony had been holding back, and faced with the man as he really was, Reeve was far more excited. So he forgives the man for letting him fall, doesn't mind rolling when prompted, and presses eagerly up into the attention of that mouth, even as his fingers curl in Tony's hair.

"I'm told I'm either too boring, or too invested in my work," Reeve offers as an explanation. And he tries quite hard to hide the redness to his cheeks at the suggestion he was exquisite. No one has said that of him in a very, very long time.

"If this place has its way, you'll have more than six months, but boredom migth come anyway."

That said, he does end up rather distracted with the attention of Tony's hand. If there was one thing that should be appreciated about electrical engineers, it was how good they could get with their hands.

Minerva help him, he wasn't going to last long like this, no matter how much he wanted to. Already the motion of Tony's hand was getting so much easier from Reeve's own pre, and that added it's own wonder.

"You've gotta move, Tony. I want my hand on you too."

Reeve seemed to be trying to convince Tony he was boring, which made him grumble in protest then lick the peak of Reeve's nipple between his teeth for a punishing drag before he drew away. If boredom was how Reeve was being told people reacted to him, that could only mean they were having a difficult time keeping up or gave up on trying to entertain him too quickly. Not that it was an easy task, but definitely a gratifying one, and as much as Tony whined his displeasure with the idea of relinquishing his position, he wasn't about to disregard the order. He rolled onto his back with a pathetic sigh of loss, tugging Reeve along with the arm still tucked under him and bringing the other hand to his mouth, where he waited until he thought he had Reeve's attention again for a luxurious lap of his tongue across the taste of Reeve on his palm, from the heel of his hand to a lingering suck on the pad of his thumb.

"You're such a showman," Reeve groaned. And that was damn hot to see the man show no shame at all. And it's beautiful.

"I could spend so long just looking at you like that."

He shivers and then his own hand is moving between them, gripping Tony and starting to stroke him as well. If nothing else, he clearly knows what he's doing, because he's got the right grip, he's moving at a slow, teasing pace, and he makes sure his quick, clever fingers pay special attention to the tip on every up stroke.

"Even if you don't show up in my room, I know I'll find myself thinking what might happen if you did."

He was right, this was much better than eagerly grinding against Reeve like he was in heat and Tony knew full well he wasn't about to learn anything from that and would be fumbling around impatiently again the next chance he got. For now, his head tipped back with a purr, whole body rolling up shamelessly into Reeve's touch to urge him faster as Tony passed his palm down Reeve's back to find a handful of his ass and pull him closer into Tony's other, spit-slicked fist between them. His toes already curled, twitching and hot and easily enthralled by Reeve's affection still, squirming at the warmth in his voice. The giddy laughed returned before Tony could make himself pant, "You better start at your desk with your cock already out for me to find you."

"Note to self. Get a desk."

The words are more a laugh than anything else, because he can't manage the straight face right now, not with Tony pulling him close, not with the heat of his hand, not with the eagerness of the other body. Yes, it's been far too long since he's been with anyone, and Tony is... ideal. Smart, handsome, arrogant. If only he was also very dangerous.

"Tony, I... fuck," he pants, thrusting eagerly, pulling himself closer, putting his face right against Tony's neck as he kept thrusting and found himself getting closer and closer. "Faster, please."

With the giggle still caught in his throat from Reeve's reply, Tony readily started to laugh again at Reeve's muttering and breathed, "I'm trying," scrambling eagerly for more friction of his own with an ankle hooked around the back of Reeve's leg and knee pressing closed to try to feel more of him, nails scratching up his back to pull his chest closer, then in his hair to hold him against Tony's shoulder. If he felt any shame for finishing first after all of his teasing and handling of Reeve, Tony's indulgent moans that echoed around the caves didn't show it, bubbling laugh gone and his ankle digging roughly into Reeve's thigh as he tensed. His unrepentant murmuring only stopped abruptly as his hand jumped from Reeve's hair to bite down hard on his knuckle, trying to keep his focus and grasp on Reeve.

The good news is that Tony doesn't have very long to worry about beating Reeve to the punch. In the end, though, he's following Tony shortly, his breath hitching as a final thrust has him spilling all over Tony's hand, and in between them. There's not much more noise than that, but he's never been noisy in that specific manner.

He's left panting and breathing heavily, his head spinning, and he giggles faintly when it's all over. Laughter may have fallen off for Tony, but it's building for Reeve. The relaxation that came with the floodgates finally opening, and he laughs.

"Fuck," Reeve chuckles, his hand coming off of Tony. His clean hand reaches up to stroke the man's hair. "That was most definitely lovely."

Tony had barely caught his breath, his whole body relaxed down into the moss or against Reeve's side still in a way that he wasn't willing to let go of yet, his knuckle out of his mouth to press to his brow and shield his eyes shut against the imposition of a less comfortable reality while his tongue idly worried his red bitten lip. The return of his laugh shocked him out of this repose, in no way prepared for 'most definitely lovely' and without the biting energy to tease Reeve for that one. It took him a few more breaths to gather it before he was trying to push himself up on his elbows, crowding Reeve back but keeping a hand lightly on his side so he didn't go far and Tony could nuzzle along his cheek, then pause before their lips met, realizing they hadn't really shared a kiss yet. "So when am I going to see this work?" he muttered instead, the first thing that came to mind in a panic.

A kiss. There had been a reason he had been dodging that. IT would speak to affection, and something told him that such a thing wouldn't be offered to him. But he takes the kiss anyway, because it feels good. Especially after this.

"When there are lights. Which I'll happily send you back to working on. After we clean you off in the water and I work some tension out of your shoulders. Then I'll escort you back and see if I can't help you and anyone else there in getting this all fixed up. And you're always welcome to come see all of my work. I told you. My door is open to you."

The panic didn't really go away, his heart stuck in his throat, feeling like he had breached some kind of contract that he hadn't realized he agreed to in the first place, and Tony would have much preferred to indulge that kiss. He was already chasing Reeve's mouth for another when he so rudely reminded Tony how they ended up here in the first place, making Tony collapse back with a groan instead, hand back over his eyes like he could go back to shutting out the reality that Reeve had so thoroughly replaced with a curious bliss. He couldn't cover the grin that grew at the same time, though, as Reeve steadily listed the very confident itinerary he had for the rest of Tony's night, making him bite his lip and risk peeking one eye out of his mask, sure his face was hot under his hand but less sure Reeve was aware how much he positioned himself in control. It had to be a habit. As smoothly as he could manage, Tony pushed himself up again, scooping Reeve up in both arms in a way that must have been obvious Tony was about to put that control to the test by throwing him back into the pool.

Yes, the control thing. What an unfortunate habit. But in a way, Tony should understand it. After all, Reeve himself had been a high powered executive, first in Shinra, and then later on at the head of his own international organization. He had been a man that commanded what amounted to a standing militia, and had survived the world ending three times. One got used to presuming power.

And, just like earlier, Reeve yelped in shock at the display of strength. He was going to have to compliment Tony on that later.

"Don't. Don't you dare," he says, but it's less an order, and more a plea. "I'll owe you one blow job if you are kind to me and don't drop me like a ton of bricks into that water. Please, please be easily corruptible and bribed like youth are supposed to be."

Of course Reeve wasn't going to let it go that easily, and Tony let him think that his offer was being considered, sinking back down onto his heels so he didn't have to brace Reeve's entire weight while he toyed with him only to come up with, "I'm much more expensive than that, sweetheart." He had really let his image slip here if he had let Reeve believe he could be bought without adding a few more zeroes to whatever check he thought he was offering, and he was going to have to be quite strict if he was going to stay in control of Tony. He was already hitching Reeve back up as he pushed up to his knees and heaved him as far away from the edge of the pool as he could manage.

Oh, there would be repercussions. As it was, Reeve was too busy dealing with the result of Tony's actions. Which was mostly flailing his way to the surface of the hot water. He was soaked, but mostly clean already, and after he finished sputtering water he just looked up at Tony. Not shocked, but definitely amused.

"Well, Mister Sassy-pants, are you joining me? Maybe I can pick your brain for a few minutes on a concept someone here discussed that may be relevant to a side project of mine. Do you know anything about solar-power?"

"Sassy-pants," Tony hissed as Reeve said it, scandalized that it had the audacity to come out of Reeve's mouth and looking about ready to leave and round up the police and the tabloids for it if Reeve hadn't thoughtfully lured him with the promise of power generation. He was in the water in an instant, crowding Reeve back a lot like he had done before but searching for his hands under the water this time to press to his own stomach, happy to submit to Reeve's plan to clean him up and rub him down if he was going to talk dirty to him like that. Maybe he wasn't all that expensive to bribe, but the rest of Reeve's plans were still on the negotiating table; they were going to have to see what other offers came up or they were entirely scrapped and Tony took him straight to bed instead to let Tony clean up his own mess.

"You are sassy, and you normally wear pants," Reeve agreed, though he spared a very thoughtful look as his hands were pressed against Tony's stomach. "Seems they're missing now. Wonder how that happened."

His fingers are very intent in their exploration. Cleaning. Definitely meant cleaning.

"Someone recently told me that it was possible to create systems that can capture light and possibly heat energy from the sun. I've worked with hydroelectric and aeroelectric systems. Shinra often deemed them too costly, unsuitable for placement, or unsightly for construction when mako was so abundant. But no one put the time or research into solar power. Is such a thing possible? Seems like you're the sort of man I'd ask for guidance on this."

Sure, he could go right to the replicator and order up some solar cells, but one should really understand some BASIC information about such systems before playing with them. Or revamping them for ones own use.

That was a worse argument than just letting it drop and never speaking of it again, and Tony nodded with wide eyes, definitely buying this, absolutely not going to hold it against Reeve for the rest of his life, as he circled his arms around Reeve's neck to brace on the edge of the pool behind him, holding himself up where he could nuzzle under Reeve's jaw and suck kisses into his skin for the wandering of his hands. They very rapidly became absently instinctive as Reeve sketched the image of his concept of energy production, feeling like a strange fraternal twin to Earth's before so many systems were modified to run on clean repulsor energy. Tony had kissed his way up to Reeve's temple before realizing it, so he could meet his eye when he offered noncommittally, "Heat wouldn't be converted, we haven't figured that out yet." More importantly, he asked, "What's mako?" He knew what it had to be, even with only that much context, but wanted to confirm they were speaking the same language-- or if Reeve's home world had harnessed heat for electrical conversion and that was how Reeve was telling him.

The kisses and little measures of affection are making it harder and harder to focus. And with each it grows more tempting to just... let the discussion go. To pull Tony against him and kiss the man soundly and keep him distracted for the rest of the night cycle. Sure, that's an insane number of hours when you lived in a sixty hour day, but he liked to think he could manage.

"Heat, the constant source of combat for us engineers," Reeve sighs.

And he finally makes a decision, leaning forward to press a light kiss to Tony's lips. Light because he doesn't know if he dares for something deeper. What if it was rebuffed? What if Tony was just affectionate after getting off? He didn't know. Minerva, this was complicated.

"Mako is..."

How did he explain Mako? From his understanding and interactions with other people from Earth... They never understood. So he reaches for one of Tony's arms and takes it from around his neck. With it freed he twists it so the wrist is against his lips, and he lets his lips press over the point of Tony's pulse.

"Mako is like blood. The very lifeblood of the planet."

And this, he expects, is where he'll lose Tony's attention. The man was clearly disdainful of 'magic' and others before had treated the idea of the Lifestream as akin to it.

Mako... was his greatest sin.

Tony didn't understand either, the easy corollary to oil or natural gas that Reeve had sketched for him falling apart with that simile, the words feeling weighted by Reeve's careful kiss and the way he took Tony's hand. If anything, it already sounded like sunlight to Tony, a constant energy source that the vitality of the whole planet depended on. That didn't explain the strange melancholy of Reeve's delivery. Tony slid his wrist from Reeve's hold to brush a thumb over his lips, quieting whatever concerns were making him hold back, then cradle his cheek against his palm to keep him from talking for more than one second so Tony could draw him into a proper kiss, only relaxing and folding his arm back around Reeve's neck with a sigh when he acquiesced to the probing curl of Tony's tongue. Tony slouched back down then to where he started, dropping his ear toward his shoulder and breath a cool stream against Reeve's neck above the warm pool as he asked again, "So, what's mako?" The naive question would have been, if he knew how to harness that, and the planet depended on it, wasn't there any on Agra 10 that he could be using?

Tenderness does not make him feel any less apprehensive. But he does give himself to the kiss, the momentary bliss of yielding and letting Tony take charge. To take the weight of the situation from him for a moment.

But to find and use mako energy here would defeat their very purpose on this world.

“I am not being metaphorical when I call mako the blood of the planet. Tell me, Tony, do you believe in the soul? In rebirth? For on Gaia such things are real, and from what I have heard from some people of Earth, these may not be true in your world.”

What was or wasn't true in his world was a more complicated question than what Tony believed. Either way, he wasn't enthusiastic about the build up-- he had already heard plenty about souls from Reeve, and it hadn't made him any more confident that he would call whatever gave Mini-C his life a soul, never mind any of the rest of them or a whole planet. He let his arm drop slowly into the water to push his hand against Reeve's chest, where he could feel the very real mechanism that kept him alive, before allowing, "Some people believe in that. A lot of people," because Reeve was trying to answer his question and Tony didn't have to shut him down immediately just because he wasn't a believer; he understood the concept, he was still on board. "You could say a lot has been created on the power of that belief." However much Tony believed didn't leave him wondering any less about his own soul, anyway.

“Belief doesn’t factor in to how my world and the Lifestream work. I known I didn’t believe it when I was younger either. The Lifestream was silly superstition in my mind. I’m a man of science, of math, to believe in something I can’t see...”

His eyes move past Tony, settling instead on the glowing moss and mushrooms on and around the stones. And his hand settles over Tony’s in the water, holding it against his skin, wishing he could feel the same pulse Tony could feel.

“I’ve seen it, though. Minerva, how does one explain it?”

With that he sighs and tilts his head back to look up at the ceiling of the cavern.

“All life in my world is connected. Every plant and animal and monster and person. Even, supposedly, the stones themselves. All life comes from the Lifestream, and when a life passes, it returns to the Lifestream. All are connected, as part of the Planet, living and breathing and knowing itself. When we die, we too return to the Lifestream, to be born again in another form. But the Lifestream isn’t a metaphor, it isn’t just a cycle. It’s a thing. A liquid. It can bubble up naturally from the world in founts and springs, creating natural materia. They’re crystals containing the overflowing memories of some other life, and it is through them that we use most magics. And... if properly distilled and refined, mako can be burned. Mako energy consumes the very life of the planet.”

Outage

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