vivarium | CALHOUN HOUR

When characters begin to wake up, instead of finding themselves in the usual warehouse, they will instead find themselves in an a very unfamiliar area. Maybe they'll wake up alone, or maybe they'll wake up with someone else. Either way, the biggest point is that they're in God-knows-where and it's the start of a new Calhoun Hour.

Within seconds later, a familiar voice booms throughout the loud speakers.

"Ahem, testing, testing! Hello, can you all hear me?"

It's, without a doubt, your favourite robotic mouse, Calhoun. As usual, he sounds a cheery as ever.

"Wow, isn't this familiar? It's almost like the first time we've met, you know. Test subject in a new location, maybe alone or maybe with someone else, my charming voice rings throughout the room, trying to drown you all in an elevator. Good times!"

"Well, anyway, welcome to your new Calhoun Hour! You can see that I've taken the liberty to move you all to a more suitable location. You may not know it, with how small your brains are, but you're all stuck in a maze! I've had my fair share of running around in mazes, you know, being a mouse and all, so I want to return to favour to you humans! So, you know the drill: explore, look around, try to escape, blah blah blah, I don't need to explain all this! Just get to it! Who knows, maybe the exit here is an exit out to the real world. I might be generous like that, if you manage to find it. If not, well, I guess you can all starve here!"

He snickers, then pauses. Suddenly, a loud gunshot-like sound rings throughout the speakers, and Calhoun screams again.

"Let's get started!"

BASIC INFO ✖ ESCAPE ✖ POST-EVENT MINGLE ✖ TURN-IN

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

*Snake opened his eyes to blink, apparently startled. Good job, Heiji.*

Before I answer that question, might I inquire as to the context that led to this?

Hmm, yeah. How was Heiji supposed to answer that? 'I've been thinking about having sex with you, but I'm not sure how it would work'? 'I've been trying to figure it out based on your personality, but I still can't'?

"It wasn't Alfendi, if that's what you mean. I just... was wondering."

So this was just basic curiosity because we're dating now? *Well, he couldn't really fault Heiji for being curious if he had no idea how it would work.*

Well, although I imagine I've had sex with men and women, I couldn't tell you what I preferred. However, I think I'd consider myself to be either depending on my partner. *He canted his head toward Heiji.* Because you might have very little knowledge in that subject, I believe I would need to be a top to just...instruct you on how it works. If we ever get to that point.

"Oh." Huh. That was... 'instruct'? 'If'? The rest of it was more or less what he'd figured, so he wasn't too taken aback at least.

"It's not... it's not just curiosity. I mean, I'm not askin' for the sake of asking. I really like you, so... it's something I'd like to do one day." Heiji was turning red again, he used up all his harlot points oh no. "That's why I thought it'd be good to know."

*Snake could sense the bit of embarrassment in Heiji's voice. Perhaps he was even turning red.* Duly noted.

*Snake then dropped his voice an octave.* I believe it's an activity I'd enjoy very much with you. One day.

So Snake wanted to, too...?

When Snake's voice dropped like that -- when he said those things, Heiji felt a little thrill run down his spine.

One day.

For now, though, he moved to Snake's side, put a hand on his shoulder, and leaned his chin on top. "You... you can ask me anything, too. Okay?"

Okay. I'll keep that in mind. *Although, if they're being honest with each other, he should probably explain why having sex was definitely an IF.*

Heiji, the thing is, should we engage in such activities, we would need things that don't exist here. Without those things, we can't have...well...I suppose it'd be considered traditional sex between men. We can certainly do other things to entertain ourselves but not that.

"I know. Condoms and lubricant, right?" Give him some credit, Snake, he did have a basic idea of how things worked. He was eighteen, not a shut-in. ....Although to be fair, Alfendi was like a fifty-year-old shut-in monster who liked yelling about people draining Hershel's nectar, so.

It was nice to know that it was more of a logistical problem than Snake not actually being sure if he wanted to be intimate with Heiji, though.

Yes, exactly. *Okay, that sort of helped that Heiji wasn't a technical novice about what was involved with sex.*

*He reached over and ran his fingers through Heiji's hair.* If and when we get to that point, I want it to be special and safe for you.

Oh. Heiji didn't quite know what to say to that to show how much he appreciated what Snake had said, so instead he leaned into the touch, closing his eyes for a moment while Snake ran fingers through his hair.

"...You always know what to say. I take it back. You're kind of a sweet talker, aren't you?"

Maybe. *Heiji's hair felt smooth under his fingers.* Maybe you just inspire me.

Have you enjoyed going out with me so far, Heiji?

"You mean I wasn't obvious enough about it?" Heiji moved around, putting his arms about Snake's shoulders.

"Okay, then. I'll just say it out loud. I like goin' out with ya so much, I wish I'd said something about it earlier. Whenever I'm around you, I feel like I'm sitting out on a sunny day."

Really? *This wasn't the "Really now, Heiji" snarky remark that Snake was so fond of using. This was a genuine question that when he asked it, left him smiling brilliantly.*

Well. I suppose I was named Light for a reason.

That smile was impossible for him to resist. Heiji leaned forward and kissed Snake.

"Y-yeah, guess so." His tone was warm and low and close in a way it never was with anyone else here. "So... why do you ask?"

*Why did he ask? Hmmm...* Perhaps it goes back to the breakup I had. If it was my fault, maybe I had done something wrong. So I wanted to make sure I wasn't hurting you or making this experience less than pleasant for you. So I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself as much as I am.

This was too much for Heiji, who pulled himself in close and rested his head on Snake's shoulder. His voice was soft, almost talking to himself.

"...If you keep sayin' stuff like that, I'm really gonna fall for you."

*In response, Snake gave a low purring sound right in Heiji's ear.*

Heiji, you are a constant delight.

Heiji shivered a little in response; the words were warm, but it was that throaty purr that he could feel against his skin. Was this really the same person who'd tried to push him away less than a week ago?

Yes.

He hadn't expected anything of Snake when he'd confessed. Had even thought it might be a little awkward, being in a romantic relationship with another man when he had no reason to suspect he'd ever done so before.

He'd never been so happy to be completely and utterly wrong. And that he'd managed to overlook this side of Snake was a mistake he would be sure to rectify in the future. He was going to start right now, in fact, by planting a kiss just at the edge of Snake's jaw.

CALHOUN HOUR - ESCAPE

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