Chapter Text
1 Year Later
Gustave collapses onto his back, starfished across the mattress and breathing heavily with a smile stretched across his face. “I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the fact that we get to have this every morning.”
Verso laughs and rolls into the space under Gustave's arm, pushing up onto an elbow to look down at him. He's sweaty and disheveled and absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. “Every morning? It's been one morning out of maybe five in the last week.” He reaches out, idly tracing pictures across Gustave’s naked chest. Golden chroma follows the path of his fingers, holding form for just a moment before dissipating into the air. “Someone insists on being up with the sun most mornings.”
“You know how busy everyone's been, mon cher. You more than anyone.” He reaches up to thread his fingers into the hair at the back of Verso's neck. He's been wearing it shorter since it went white, still long enough to tie back, but just barely. “Maybe you'd have less to do if you were up before noon.”
Verso rolls his eyes and leans down to kiss the tip of Gustave's nose. “I'm still catching up on the decades of early mornings, dangerous nights, or altogether missed sleep. I think I'm entitled to a few lazy mornings. Especially if I can convince you to be lazy with me.” He tips his head to change the teasing brush of his lips into a proper kiss.
Gustave returns the affection, letting the morning drift away from them as they trade slow, easy kisses. It still doesn't seem real most days, that this is the rest of his life. They have everything they could want. Lumière is thriving, a bustling hub of life and joy again like it hasn't been since the Fracture. Their friends and families have returned to them and they have an actual future stretching out before them. It's a dream come true, one none of them had ever really believed in. And they owe it to the man in his arms. Verso is the last one to accept thanks or praise for his actions, still believing that he doesn't deserve it, but Gustave will spend the rest of his long life proving him wrong.
Their sliver of quiet romance is interrupted by the sound of the alarm clock on the bedside table.
Verso groans and drops his forehead to Gustave's collarbone. “Do we have to?”
Gustave scratches his fingers across Verso's scalp, kissing his hair. “Yes, we do. I have to touch base with Lune before she goes back to the Continent. Esquie is coming by after lunch to pick her up and I want to see how the short wave radios are holding up before we try and boost their power again.” The last time they'd tried anything further than a kilometer the chroma in the radio had sparked into a small fire. Nothing serious, but not sustainable. Gustave wants something they can make work across the ocean. Esquie has been indispensable in transferring word back and forth to those that have started living on the Continent, and their ships are still feasible, but they have time now. Why not use it?
“Sciel still only letting her out of the house once a week?” Verso asks with a chuckle.
“More like Pierre only lets her out of the house once a week.” Gustave says. “Sciel is terrible when she's cooped up, and the baby has them all keeping odd hours. Lune is just as good at running a household as she was at running an expedition. Go figure.” It had been decided almost immediately, and unanimously, that that particular trio were staying on the Continent when the option had been brought up. Lune's parents had been excited to have more time to study everything without worrying about time, and Lune had been the same, even if it had taken her a bit longer to admit it. Sciel had forced it out of her at dinner about a month after Verso had brought Lune's parents back. He'd been going back, repainting the Expeditions and those they'd lost in groups once or twice a week, then taking time to recover his energy.
---
“Just admit that you want to go!” Sciel raised her voice, smacking her hand against the table. “Every single person knows you're driving yourself mad here, so maybe it will do you some good. You're allowed to be happy too, you know.”
Lune folded her hands in her lap, deceptively calm. They all knew what it meant when Lune got quiet during an argument. Not that what was happening was an argument. Not yet. It was just something that they'd all talked about before. Lune had put her foot down every other time, but Sciel was forcing the issue now. It was just the four of them and she always felt more comfortable bringing up the hard truths when the others weren't around. “I'm happy here.”
“I'm not saying you're not happy, but you could be happier.” Sciel exhaled heavily, more of a frustrated growl than a sigh. “It doesn't have to be right this minute, but I hate feeling like you're missing out on something you want just because you want to keep me happy. I'm happy wherever you and Pierre are, whether that's here or on the Continent. And you know how much Pierre has been talking about all the weird plants he could grow. That would be a dream come true for him.”
“It would be easy as anything to paint up a house.” Verso had interjected. “I've been doing it all month to get everyone started over there. One more won't hurt.”
“You keep painting everything for everyone and we're going to forget how to build for ouselves.” Lune teased.
Verso shrugged and kicked at her under the table. “It's the least I can do. Especially after-”
“If you mention anything from before the loops again so help me I will stab you with a fork.” Sciel threatened playfully. “I was gearing up for a really good argument and you're ruining it with your brooding self sacrifice.”
It says a lot about how far they've all come in such a short time that they can joke about everything that has happened.
“I'll stop brooding when you stop avoiding asking Lune to move in with you and Pierre like you've been doing for the last month.”
Sciel had opened and closed her mouth like a fish with no response. Lune had gone red up to her ears and Gustave dropped his head into his hands. “Verso, we were going to let them handle this on their own. We literally talked about it just last night.”
“They were taking too long.”
Dinner ended quickly after that. It had resulted in flowers and pastries at their door one morning from a contrite looking Sciel about a week later though, so no harm done. And the little family had been a part of the next wave of people wanting to settle the Continent.
---
Verso rolls off of Gustave to the edge of the bed, sitting up with an easy grace that Gustave still envies. He's not nearly as spry in the morning, even if he is technically younger. “And I'm having lunch with Sophie and your sister to discuss where to put the last wave of expeditioners while they gossip about you.” He stretches his arms over his head, a pop sounding from somewhere in his back.
Gustave reaches out to trace the dark ink stains along Verso's right side. They stretch further and further every time he uses his Painter abilities. It doesn't seem to hurt him, but it makes Gustave nervous all the same. He's glad Verso has people other than himself and the others from Expedition 33 to talk to, though. It had been hard getting him to open up at all in the early days. Getting Verso to believe he deserved kindness was like trying to pull teeth. It left them all feeling sore and exhausted. Sophie had been worth her wait in gold getting Verso out of the house back then. They got along like a house on fire now, but on the day he'd repainted her, Verso had all but disappeared, convinced he'd worn out his welcome now that Gustave had her back. Sophie had been the one to put a sudden and immediate stop to that line of thought.
---
“Do you love him?”
Gustave should not be hearing this. He'd gone looking for Verso after he and Sophie had had their reunion. He had held her so tight in that moment that nothing else had mattered. When he finally came up for air, looking for Verso, to thank him, the man had been gone. Sophie had known something was wrong immediately and pried an explanation from him without even trying. She'd been the one to send him off to find Verso. Ironic that she had found him first.
The opera house seemed cavernous when it was empty. With everything he knew about Verso, it should have been the first place he checked. Gustave tipped his head back and found his own image staring back at him. He and Sophie dancing across the ceiling, lit up like the night sky with scattered lights like stars. Oh, Verso…
“Do you love him?” Sophie had asked again.
Verso is seated at the piano on stage, not playing anything, just resting his hands on the covered keys. “He still loves you.”
“Convenient then, that that's not what I asked you.” Sophie has a way of sounding soft while speaking words that strike at the core of a person. “Do you love him?”
“Yes.”
He had sounded so destroyed by the admission that Gustave had almost given up his hiding spot to run to him, shake him and tell him that he loved him too. Why couldn't he believe that?
Sophie had moved from her spot near the stage, climbing the steps to sit beside Verso on the piano bench. “I love him too. I suspect I always will. Gustave will probably always hold some kind of feelings for me too, but we had our time. Maybe we could have made it work, in another life, but we have this one. And in this life he is currently running all over the city looking for you, not me, because he was afraid that you'd finally gotten tired of him and left.”
That's not exactly what Gustave had told her.
Verso had tipped his head back then, looking up at the painted ceiling. He'd said something too softly for Gustave to catch from where he was and Sophie had answered just as quietly. Their voices had continued at a soft murmur, and even though Gustave had been itching to do something, to try and fix it, he'd left them to it. He trusted them both.
Later, when they'd found him at the pier, Sophie had gone up onto her toes to kiss him on the cheek. “Take care of this one.” She'd whispered. “He needs a gentle hand.” Then she'd done the same to Verso before taking her leave. He's never asked what they talked about, what Sophie had said to get Verso to come back. He's just thankful that it happened. And they've been thick as thieves ever since.
---
“This last wave is Expedition Zero.” Gustave says gently. Verso will know what he's saying without him needing to say the words. This final group will include Julie and the Search and Rescue team.
“Mm.”
“Do you want me to be there?” They've both gotten better at talking about what they want instead of assuming. Gustave hadn't realized just how much they'd been holding back until it changed.
Verso turns at the waist, hand already reaching out to lay against Gustave's cheek. “I think I need to do this one on my own.” He says. “Not to hide, but I tend to let you take charge of the hard decisions if you're there. I lean on you more than I should.”
“That's what a partnership is about.” Gustave takes Verso's hand in his and sits up, crossing his legs one under the other so he can scooch himself closer. “We're supposed to lean on each other.”
“I know. I know, and with anything else I would agree with you but… I killed them, Gustave. This wasn't just inaction or a consequence of something I'd done. I ran her through, held her as she died. I don't- This shouldn't be easy. I don't want it to be easy.” He chokes on his words and Gustave wants to pull him back down, pull the covers over them both and tell the world to go away for the rest of the day. But he can't. Verso wouldn't let him, and he loves the man for that. “They deserve to be allowed to feel whatever they're feeling when they come back. They deserve to have me face what I did, even if it's not who I am anymore.”
Gustave is so proud of him. There's nothing holding him back so he says it out loud. “You're much stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
“Give yourself at least some of that credit.” Verso smiles and leans in to kiss him one more time before pushing himself to his feet, naked and unashamed in their room, in their home he'd repainted for them above Mathilde's. “I may have done the heavy lifting, but it started with you. None of this would have happened without you here with me.”
Gustave tosses the covers aside and gets himself out of bed as well. “I'll take at least sixty percent of the credit.” He says teasingly, kissing Verso on the chin and swatting him on the ass as he squeezes around him into the bathroom.
“Sixty?” Verso squawks at him. “I was going to give you an even half. Why sixty?”
“Your sister likes me better.” It's not true, but it's an ongoing joke he has with Alicia every time they're together. She and Renoir may only visit the city when Verso has painting days, but he and Verso visit the Continent where they've remade the manor, and it turns out he and Alicia have more in common than they would have thought. She's a quiet soul, but also smart as a whip with a vicious sense of humor when given the chance. She also has a head for calculations and a patience that comes in handy when she helps Gustave with his projects. The patience has been needed while they try to get the Canvas's painted Clea to see reason as well. It had actually been Alan and his exploration team that had stumbled across her almost three months ago.
Many of the Expeditioners wanted to keep exploring the Continent, pushing forward into new territory now that they had the time for it. Nevrons still existed, and the Canvas was never going to be completely tamed, but so many of them still had that spark to go out and explore, for discovery. There was so much about their new world they didn't know. It had been during one such excursion that Alan and his team had stumbled across the tower. They'd been battling their way through, exploring the untouched corners for maybe a week when Tristen had brought back word of someone else following them.
---
“She looks different.” Tristen had said. “Like paper, all one color. A shadow, but the inverse, ya know?”
“Has she hurt anyone?” Gustave asked. It's only the day after Verso had brought back the last group of Gommaged residents and he's trying very hard to keep his voice down. It's not unheard of for Verso to sleep for a full day after painting. It feels awkward to be standing in their kitchen, talking in hushed voices about something so important, but he didn't want to wake the man when he needed the rest.
Tristen shook his head. “No. She's just appeared a few times, following us around, disappearing when someone tries to approach her. Do you know who she is?”
Family is a sore subject for all of the Dessendres, but Gustave had gotten the whole sordid tale from them eventually. It had taken quite a bit of wine, and more than a few tears, but it had all come out eventually.
“I think so. Tell Alan to approach with caution if she shows up again, and not to engage if he can help it. I'll see if Alicia is feeling up to a little adventure.” Renoir would have been the better choice, but the Expeditioners in particular are, understandably, still uncomfortable around him. Especially on the Continent. He'd rather they all go, especially if it really is Clea, but Verso is indisposed for at least another few days and Gustave isn't going to push him, no matter how much Verso might say he's ready.
In the end, Clea had forced their hand. She attacked the exploration team when they'd reached the final room of the tower. No one had been seriously hurt, but it had made it clear that the Dessendres needed to involve themselves personally.
---
Progress is slow, but if anyone can do it, it's the Dessendre family.
Verso moves around the room, gathering his clothes. “She does not.” He says, like he always does. “Besides, Maelle…” He stops with his hands on the buttons of his shirt. Gustave leans out of the bathroom door, finished with the act of pulling his pants up. Maelle is still a soft spot for all of them. They know the passage of time is different between the outside world and the Canvas, but there's no way to tell for sure how much time has passed. Or when Maelle will be back. “Maelle likes me best.”
Something in his voice is small. Gustave wraps his arms around Verso's waist and tucks his chin over his shoulder. “Hey, she said she'd be back. We have to trust that she'll keep her word. Just like everyone else trusted us.”
“I know.” Verso says, resting his hands on Gustave's where they're still around his waist. “And I do trust her. She'll come back. I just hate not knowing when, looking over our shoulders and thinking every shadow I see is-”
“Don't do that to yourself.”
“You jump at shadows too, mon inventeur.” He turns his head to kiss Gustave on the cheek. “We'll all feel better when-”
There's a loud knocking on their front door from the main room.
“You expecting company?” Verso asks.
Gustave shakes his head, slipping out from behind Verso to step toward the door. “No, but we don't make it a secret where we are and there's always-”
“Gustave! Verso! Come on, open up. This is important.”
“It's Lune. She's early.” It's not unheard of for Lune to lose track of time, or forget it altogether. “I'll get it. You get dressed.” He kisses Verso on the ear and heads for the doorway, pulling a cable knit sweater from the dresser and over his head on his way. “I’m coming, Lune! Hang on!” They rarely get the opportunity to have a morning to themselves during the week, so while he’s slightly annoyed at the interruption, he can’t really be upset that it’s Lune. She’s away on the Continent more often than not these days. Gustave pulls open the front door and offers her a genuine, if somewhat tired smile. “Morning, Lune. I didn’t think we were meeting until after-”
“Hi, Gustave.”
“Maelle.”
She looks different and yet somehow the same. Her hair is tied back, shorter than before, but still with the white forelock framing her face. She’s dressed down, slacks tucked into high boots and a deep red cardigan over a creme cashmere sweater. The cardigan looks at least two sizes too big for her. “I’m back.”
She’s really there. Gustave looks at Lune, standing over her shoulder, eyes wet and smiling fit to outshine the sun.
“I’m sorry it took so long. I tried to come back sooner, but Maman-”
Gustave wraps both arms around her and pulls her into his chest.
She’s really there.
“Gustave, please tell me you’re not actually making Lune stand in the hall. We have better manners than that.”
Gustave hears Verso behind him. He can tell the moment the other man sees who’s at their door.
“Maelle.” Suddenly there are arms around them both as Verso wraps them all up. “You’re back.”
“Yeah.” Maelle says, joy in her voice and holding them both so tight she’s shaking. “I’m home.”
LA FIN