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“Well..?” Gustave looked at Verso a bit expectantly, his own arms tied behind his back, feet teetering back and forth on their axis point. Verso’s eyes were elsewhere, gazing over the canvas ahead of them. Hues of blue, yellow and white tickling the horizon. The hanging gardens as they were called, Gustave’s safe place. Countless hours had been spent daydreaming with Maelle or throwing rocks over the fence to see where they landed and now after everything it had become somewhere he wanted to share with Verso.
Verso’s lips tinged with a grin before he spoke, “You know, Maelle told me about this place. It’s her favorite too.” He looked over at Gustave and almost snorted at Gustave’s dumbfounded expression.
The engineer of course, shaking his head, acting as if he’d known that quite well— “Of course! Yes, her and I, we would spend hours up here. Like a cut of cloth no harm could touch.” Gustave hadn’t expected the poetic metaphor to leave him but, it was in the way he wistfully looked back over the harbor that made Verso hum in understanding.
This place was sacred, it held countless precious memories that only Gustave and Maelle had. The fact that Verso was here with Gustave now, it meant a great deal to Gustave. Of course he was a little embarrassed by the notion. Verso had seen every inch of Lumière in his time while painted but this place was so much more than a garden overlooking their world. It was, as described, as well understood: Gustave’s safe place.
Verso huffed gently and reached over to take Gustave’s hand into his, “It’s beautiful, Gustave. Really.” His voice carried so much truth, he almost didn’t recognize the warmth himself.
Whatever breath had been stuck in Gustave’s chest finally gave way, a grin sneaking onto his face. He tried to remain nonchalant and gave Verso’s hand a little squeeze.
“Yes, well..” He was pleased, visibly glowing and Verso took the opportunity to link their fingers together while overlooking the harbor once again.
They stayed like that for a few quiet moments, taking in the calm of the day and the serenity that it brought— of course until Verso made a small sound of interest. Gustave looked over with a slightly amused quirk to his lips, “What?”
Verso nodded his head towards the two statues separating stone from sea.
“How do they compare to the real thing, hmm? One’s more handsome, no?”
Gustave snorted gently and let his eyes roll back by natural reaction. He looked over the statues in the distance, noting the similarities and considered feeding into Verso’s obvious gloating. Instead Gustave replied, “You know actually, the construction of them took weeks if not months. In every history book, they always detailed the careful measurements and tools required, noting each hand that went into the process. You see the base? It’s made of this material known as..”
And slowly over time, Verso’s entire body started to deflate as Gustave excitedly commented over the history of the statues and how they made them.
Right, an engineer.
Gustave eventually caught himself and smiled, squeezing Verso’s hand to grab his attention again and deciding to finally give Verso what he wanted.
“…It was you who built the dome, yes?”
Verso’s eyes were trained on his own boot. Shuffling a little, brooding a lot. Gustave laughed and looked down at their connected hands,
“You’re quite extraordinary, Verso…”
He meant every word. Since they had met, each conversation was more fruitful than the last. Attention was held, education was endless, they found interest in one another instantly. Though— not much could be said for Gustave’s interrogation about how the trains used to run. Verso’s mind still seemed to be elsewhere and Gustave hummed quietly before pressing a kiss to the side of Verso’s face. And another, aaaand another until he was shoving Gustave away with a smile he couldn’t even begin to hide.
“Yes, I definitely prefer the real thing over a cut piece of stone.” Gustave said, releasing Verso’s hand to take his face properly between his palms and press more kisses over the scarred skin. Verso laughed and held Gustave’s waist, the sun meeting the horizon and leaving them in a painted golden glow.
Verso snorted and returned a few kisses, smiling gingerly down at Gustave,
“I could.. tell you about the dome’s construction if you want. All the dirty little details.”
Gustave feigned shock and bit his lip playfully before laughing, “Oh now don’t you know how to rile a man up…”
Verso rolled his eyes and pulled him close, Gustave easily carving himself a spot beside Verso as they headed down the boardwalk. Arms around one another, eager conversation filling the air and night of promised foreplay- or, more so research ahead of them.