MARCH UPDATE

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 12:02:57 GMT

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’What do you need that only Team Rocket can give you?’
[break][break]
In the time Mars has known Cian, he has come to trust him with a lot, but that doesn’t make him any less of a cautious person. This place, his office, is perhaps the safest in all of Hoenn for Mars – the one place where no one could possibly be listening in on anything said between them. Other places can’t be trusted with the same, not even his apartment, and yet despite this trust, the response he gives is so quiet that it sounds almost as if he fears that anyone else might hear them:
[break][break]
”...A path to being free, Cian. From the people who have ruined my life.”
[break][break]
Team Rocket is a lesser evil in Mars’ life.
[break][break]
Team Rocket is the choice he had to make because, as much as he may hate it, he realized he could never be rid of the Marzáns if he tried to bring them down all by himself.
[break][break]
Team Rocket is his saving grace, even if most people there may never know this. Hell, they probably won't. It’s better if they don’t.
[break][break]
But, Mars doesn’t say all this, and he simply looks at Cian, still maintaining that same faint and gentle smile.
[break][break]
”Would it really be a better life if I don’t have the things I like about this one?... Ha. Maybe I’m just too greedy.” The smile shifts into a slight smirk, leaning in to softly kiss Cian’s cheek.
[break][break]
'It wouldn't be a better life without you in it,' is what Mars thinks, but of course also doesn't say this.

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER

[attr="class","credit"]milky

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 13:32:35 GMT

Martín del Mar likes this

[attr="class","cian"]cian understands to an extent — not much, at least not nearly enough to ask:

"could you just not...disappear?"

it seems easy enough in theory. get a shit load of money, a new identity, and just disappear. he'd be lying if he said he hadn't considered doing so; it won't be hard either, not with team rocket's resources at his grasps.

but things are almost always more complicated than they seem.

and yet...

"...what if you brought the things you liked with you?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Martín del Mar

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 14:26:35 GMT

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The first thing Mars had learned about the Marzán family was that, for him, there is no escaping them.
[break][break]
His father had tried; he had done everything in his power to take him away, keep him safe, and give him six years of peace, happiness, and blissful ignorance. Some of the best years of his life even if he barely remembers most of them, and the years that had ended the day the Marzáns finally caught up with them. Now the memories of those years are bloodstained.
[break][break]
And so, there’s only one answer Mars can give to Cian’s question.
[break][break]
”No… I can’t. I don’t want to spend every single day of my life worrying about when they’ll finally find me.”
[break][break]
But, it’s not that, is it? It’s not really fear. Not anymore. The reason Mars chooses not to disappear is different, and it’s spoken of in a resolute but all too quiet whisper.
[break][break]
”I’m tired of running, Cian. I don’t want to hide... No one should have that kind of power over my life.”
[break][break]
He will make damn sure of that.
[break][break]
That right there, is the truth: Mars is angry, he’s tired, and he’s had enough of having people wanting to control his life and doing the worst things imaginable when trying to achieve that. Even if it’s the last thing he does, there will be no more of that.
[break][break]
But, as he looks at Cian, there’s also something much different in his mind, and while there’s a sigh, there’s also the gentle way he squeezes his hand, and a faint smile…
[break][break]
”In a perfect world, a world without my family and without Team Rocket, I’d take all the things I like and live the most amazing life – happy and without a single worry. Although… I’d probably have to ask for permission from some of those things.” Holding Cian’s gaze, he chuckles at this.

[break][break]

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 15:17:54 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]tired of running.

for someone who should be familiar with the expression, he isn't, and it's for that reason that he can't fully relate to mars nor to the sentiments shared, because he's sure if he was in mars' shoes, with an abundance of resources and possible wealth, he'd run, and he wouldn't look back.

and yet, here he is, choosing to stay with his family instead of run like boruta maher had.

what a hypocrite.

"you're right...no one should."

and it makes him sad to hear.

still, he returns the smile, chuckling as he whispers:

"you can always ask."

[attr="class","noodles"]Martín del Mar

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 15:53:04 GMT

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Mars is not made for running, nor is he made for bending to the will of others.
[break][break]
Yet, all of his life, this is exactly what he has done: run and be too weak to properly fight back despite all of his efforts to do as much.
[break][break]
All that is different now.
[break][break]
If he has to start a war, he will, all for the sake of being free. For the sake of doing as he wishes. For the sake of revenge. For the sake of the fight itself. How fitting, perhaps, of a man who has named himself after a god of war and bloodthirst.
[break][break]
Mars will always be one to fight against anything that stands in his way, but he knows well that Cian wouldn’t do the same.
[break][break]
He doesn’t blame him for it, nor does judge him. If anything, perhaps this too is something for which he admires him.
[break][break]
”Okay, I’ll ask.” He holds his gaze.
[break][break]
Mars will never be one to run, but if he were, he’d want Cian by his side. Because this… whatever it is that exists between them, is one of the only things that makes him truly happy in this life. Even if they're different. Even if there's so much that is still left to be said between.
[break][break]
So, oh so quietly, he whispers:
[break][break]
”In a perfect world, would you come with me, Cian?”

[break][break]

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 16:18:35 GMT

Martín del Mar likes this

[attr="class","cian"]in a perfect world, would he come with mars?

to think of a world like that, of a life with mars, where would they even go? likely not kanto, johto, or sinnoh, so maybe kalos? galar, maybe? he's visited before for tournaments and races, though he didn't have time to sightsee much. maybe he'll have to, and if he does, then he wants mars with him.

but it's then that he realizes he doesn't really care where he ends up, just as long as mars is there.

so, naturally, the answer is:

"yes, mars. i would."

[attr="class","noodles"]Martín del Mar

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 16:43:18 GMT

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Where would Mars want to go with Cian?
[break][break]
Anywhere would be more than fine, he knows as much, but he also finds himself thinking of places where he’d really like to take Cian…
[break][break]
Like Kalos, because he has always loved Kalosian cities and because he hasn’t been back to Ambrette Town since he was a child.
[break][break]
Like Alola, because nothing quite beats the ocean, and the beach, and the sun.
[break][break]
Maybe they should visit sometime.
[break][break]
But, for now, they’re here at his office, and it’s also more than fine. It’s perfect, really, and Mars realizes there’s nowhere he’d rather be but here with him.
[break][break]
”Yeah? I’m glad.” He is. He really is. And, with these words, he leans in for a gentle kiss, then pulling away but staying close, forehead resting against his.
[break][break]
”I’d go with you too, Cian.”
[break][break]
Would Mars really set everything he’s fighting for aside if Cian chose to leave?
[break][break]
Maybe. Maybe only for him.

[break][break]

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 16:58:55 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]the gentle kiss is returned, forehead resting against mars' after.

"you better."

not that he'd ever go anywhere without mars in the first place. if he were to someday leave, he'd ask mars to come with him.

and though they're not quite ready to run away together, maybe they're ready for something similar.

"we should go on a trip together."

[attr="class","noodles"]Martín del Mar

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 17:18:41 GMT

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They probably should talk about it more; about why they’d be willing to leave for each other, about those feelings they said they have, about what exactly is all this that exists between them, and about what they both want out of it.
[break][break]
But, that’s a difficult conversation to have, and all this has already been difficult enough.
[break][break]
For now, this is more than fine, and that conversation can be left to be had another time.
[break][break]
Is it running, or is it just a wish to cherish every single moment?
[break][break]
”A trip? Hell yeah.”
[break][break]
He grins, because why would he ever say no to that?
[break][break]
”Where would you want to go?”

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 17:38:26 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]they probably should talk about it more, but for someone who usually never opens up, this is progress for cian. baby steps, as they say.

mars' acceptance makes him happy to hear. he smiles, shifting down to kiss his cheek.

"so many options..."

but really, it comes down to two, and while kalos does sound really nice and romantic, he's always wanted to revisit:

"alola. i want to run on the beach again."

[attr="class","noodles"]Martín del Mar

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 17:56:01 GMT

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It’s fine to wait. All this is new and different, and it’s not often that Mars has these sorts of feelings.
[break][break]
So, those questions don’t need to be asked right away, because all these moments can still be enjoyed and cherished even when there’s so much that’s left to be said between them...
[break][break]
Neither of them are people who open up easily, and it’s fine to take things step by step.
[break][break]
It’s okay.
[break][break]
The kiss makes Mars smile, as does Cian’s answer.
[break][break]
”Alola, huh? You read my mind.”
[break][break]
As he often seems to do, because there’s so many ways in which they’re alike.
[break][break]
”Alola it is, then. Though if you expect me to race against you, you’ll also have to come swimming with me.” At this, he grins, chuckling.

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 18:18:46 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]the last time cian visited alola was for a race when he was young; maybe ten? eleven? the memory is foggy and faded but he remembers how happy he had felt to have qualified, but more so than that, how happy it made him that his mom was there with him. she'd watch him run on the beach in preparation for the race, and then she'd take him for coconut smoothies after.

it's a nice memory, and it's one he hopes he'll never forget.

to return to alola without her feels strange, but a part of him's ready to make new memories.

"i would've gone swimming with you regardless."

so that's mars' loss, really. good luck racing cian on foot.

"when would you like to go?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Martín del Mar

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 18:42:33 GMT

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”I know, but I like having it guaranteed.”
[break][break]
Not like Mars wouldn’t race against him even if Cian hadn’t agreed. After all, it’s not about winning, but about spending time with Cian and seeing how happy he is when running...
[break][break]
Nothing can quite compare to it.
[break][break]
”Hmm… I need to check my schedule, but I should be able to make some time in a couple of weeks. Do you mind waiting that long?”
[break][break]
Most people prepare their trips months in advance, because a trip is expensive and it’s difficult to get vacation time. Mars though? Mars has never had to worry about that sort of thing, and he never will have to worry about it.
[break][break]
For as many awful things as they come with, these are some of the privileges of the life he lives.

[break][break]

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2021 19:13:40 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]"a couple of weeks"

at this, cian tilts his head up at mars, a small out gracing his features.

a few weeks isn't that long, really, and it's also about what cian needs to sort things out on his end. he's just acting for the sake of it.

the pout only grows as he asks:

"what about next week instead?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Martín del Mar

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