09-28-2025, 12:32 AM
Ozymandias had already decided, long before Elend reached him, how the scene would unfold. An old acquaintance, though Ozy struggled to recall if he’d ever referred to Elend as a friend. Friends, after all, were a fiction the mediocre clung to for warmth.
When Elend approached, guiding his partner with that unmistakable air of possession, Ozy leaned back slightly further into his seat, chin tilted just enough to force the other man to look upward when speaking.
“Elend,” Ozy said, his lips forming the name as if it was recognition of a memory. His voice was smooth, pulled taut like a thread about to snap “You’ve aged…”, his eyes flickered up and down the line of him, “…gracefully,” he added.
His gaze shifted to the woman in blue. She was practically trembling, though whether from the music or the nearness of him, Ozy didn’t bother to distinguish. He let his eyes glide over her with the cool indifference of a collector inspecting a trinket before setting it back on the shelf in disappointment. Then, as if granting charity, he gestured toward the seats opposite.
“Sit. Both of you. If you insist.” The invitation was warm, but it more like permission.
As Elend settled in, Ozy studied him with the faintest curl of a smile, that expression of someone savoring a private joke. Their past had threads of camaraderie, yes, but also rivalry. Fond memories. Elend could actually hold his own at the game. Ozy had always considered himself the victor. And yet, there was something about Elend tonight, a presence just beneath the surface. He seemed bolder than in the past. An ease that wasn’t ordinary. It irked him, wondering what had given him such a boost of bravado.
“Gossip about you has been… quiet,” Ozy remarked, lifting his untouched glass and swirling the liquid. “Shame, really. When men disappear from view, people assume they’ve lost their footing. Or worse, their relevance.”
Across the table, the woman in blue leaned forward slightly, obviously eager to bask in Ozy’s attention. Ozy left her dangling, her excitement unsated. Instead, his eyes remained locked on Elend’s, buried in his skull.
“So Elend, what have you been up to? Just get back from some amazon retreat backward bend yoga fuck fest? It sounds fabulous.” He smirked. Elend was always into that kind of all natural bullshit.
When Elend approached, guiding his partner with that unmistakable air of possession, Ozy leaned back slightly further into his seat, chin tilted just enough to force the other man to look upward when speaking.
“Elend,” Ozy said, his lips forming the name as if it was recognition of a memory. His voice was smooth, pulled taut like a thread about to snap “You’ve aged…”, his eyes flickered up and down the line of him, “…gracefully,” he added.
His gaze shifted to the woman in blue. She was practically trembling, though whether from the music or the nearness of him, Ozy didn’t bother to distinguish. He let his eyes glide over her with the cool indifference of a collector inspecting a trinket before setting it back on the shelf in disappointment. Then, as if granting charity, he gestured toward the seats opposite.
“Sit. Both of you. If you insist.” The invitation was warm, but it more like permission.
As Elend settled in, Ozy studied him with the faintest curl of a smile, that expression of someone savoring a private joke. Their past had threads of camaraderie, yes, but also rivalry. Fond memories. Elend could actually hold his own at the game. Ozy had always considered himself the victor. And yet, there was something about Elend tonight, a presence just beneath the surface. He seemed bolder than in the past. An ease that wasn’t ordinary. It irked him, wondering what had given him such a boost of bravado.
“Gossip about you has been… quiet,” Ozy remarked, lifting his untouched glass and swirling the liquid. “Shame, really. When men disappear from view, people assume they’ve lost their footing. Or worse, their relevance.”
Across the table, the woman in blue leaned forward slightly, obviously eager to bask in Ozy’s attention. Ozy left her dangling, her excitement unsated. Instead, his eyes remained locked on Elend’s, buried in his skull.
“So Elend, what have you been up to? Just get back from some amazon retreat backward bend yoga fuck fest? It sounds fabulous.” He smirked. Elend was always into that kind of all natural bullshit.