{You break down my defenses, you are my only weakness

[myheadisaprison]

PSL with auricular_acuity

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[youcouldbeagod]

Luckily, his boyfriend is good with nonverbal communication, or maybe he just knows him really well. Either way, he seems to read the message loud and clear and Paco is glad for it

"I won't " he assures him, trying not to grin like a lovestruck idiot--and failing.

"Come here," If he's going to feel like a nerd, he's gonna at least pretend it's about something nerd-worthy. He slips out of the chair and wraps his fingers around Hartley's, tugging him along with him into the living room. He drops his hand and disappears to the hall closet, returning with a set of glasses that almost match his own goggles, just with a few tweaks like the solid single visor view-piece and they're a little clunkier, meant more to function than style. There's also a earpiece that hooks off of one side that Paco's own goggles don't have.

"You will be able to hear and see everything I do." He holds the visor out to him. "Dante said it was really weird at first, but it's pretty handy."

[auricular_acuity]

Hartley comes along obediently when Paco tugs him, but when he lets go, he takes a seat and waits uncertainly, wondering what Paco wants to do.

Then Paco returns with an interesting looking visor. He cocks his head and reaches to take the piece. He looks it over and then fits it over his eyes, sticking the earpiece into his ear. "You have a matching device?" he asks, exploring the item to try to figure out how to turn it on.

[youcouldbeagod]

"No," He answers, catching Hartley's hand and moving it to certain buttons on one side of the device muttering 'power', 'volume', 'zoom in and out'. "it connects to the frequency my goggles are set to, picks it up for a good distance. I need to make sure it'll work from here." He steps back for a second. "Wanna test it?" He grins, even if Hartley can't actually see that just now with the visor over his eyes.

[auricular_acuity]

Hartley nodded. "It's related to your powers?" he asked, breathless with curiosity. "Yes, let's test it."

[youcouldbeagod]

"Sort of," He'd happily answer all the questions Hart had later, but he wants to be sure this thing will work like he wants. If it loses signal before he gets to the club, it's useless and Hartley's stuck sitting here waiting while he's gone tonight.

He fusses with his goggles for a moment and when he's done, the screen on the inside of the visor clicks on. "You can hear me, but I can't hear you, which..." He squints in annoyance at his own failing, "I should fix, I don't know why I haven't, but anyway--" he shakes his head, "just call me if it gives you a blank screen."

He doesn't waste any more time as long as Hartley doesn't have any other questions. Once they're set, he slips out of the apartment and heads toward the club he'll be going to later. The whole time, Hartley sees the streets, the buildings and shops, hears the buzz of idle chatter and car engines humming on the street as he walks. The signal never wavers.

He makes his way back to the apartment once he's satisfied with the limit testing. He's got a grin a mile wide as he walks back into the apartment. Paco tips the visor up off of Hartley's face and kisses him. "This is gonna be perfect."

[auricular_acuity]

It really is an amazing experience. It's more intimate than if Paco was just wearing a camera, somehow, though Hartley cna't put his finger on how.

He watches Paco explore the city for a while, and then return. He's grinning as well, though not quite as excitedly as Paco. He's pleased to see him, though, and he kisses him back with pleasure.

"It's a great plan," he agrees. "It worked perfectly." He gives Paco another squeeze. "I've got an idea. If I can get to a library with some good wifi, maybe we don't need to wait. We can just watch him tonight, and then send him to my world, and waltz right in tomorrow."

[youcouldbeagod]

He places one knee on the couch to steady himself before simply straddling Hartley's lap, pushing the visor completely away and setting it aside. He pushes his fingers through his boyfriend's hair, kissing him again as he pushes him back against the couch.

"You think it'll be enough?" Rather than anything else, he sounds excited about the idea, almost hopeful. He wants Hart to have enough time to get the subtleties and mannerisms of his double down so nothing happens when he's faced with the people that disowned him in his own world. He wonders how different the Rathaway's here are, and if Hart has really considered what seeing them is gonna do to him. Paco has, because he thinks twenty steps ahead at all times, but he hasn't brought it up because it didn't seem necessary. Maybe it is now.

[auricular_acuity]

Hartley groans eagerly and settles back, holding Paco close. "When you met him, did he seem really different from me?" he asks curiously. If Paco thinks he's pushing too fast, then he'll pull back, but he is eager to get this done before something goes wrong. They're already very vulnerable, with two Hartley's in town - it's very possible someone will notice.

[youcouldbeagod]

"Not really... but there might be subtle things a ten minute meeting couldn't catch." He kisses him again, soft and gentle in a way he only is with Hartley. "Besides his mannerisms and habits...there's a lot to consider." he reaches up to brush his fingertips over one side of Hartley's face. "Like your parents." He rolls his lips together as he lets those words actually sink in for a moment. "Are you sure you're ready to deal with them? Face to face?"

[auricular_acuity]

Hartley arched a brow. "You're only planning on hanging out with him for ten minutes?" He had thought he'd have all evening. He doesn't disagree with Paco at all.

The question about his parents made his expression pull down unhappily. He draws a breath and sighs, his gaze sliding away and a muscle jumping in his jaw. "There was a time I wanted to ruin them for what they did for me... but I realized that that kind of thing wasn't doing anything to make my life better. Now all I want is to make them regret throwing me away by surpassing them, and building a company even better than Rathaway Industries. Now I can do both. For that, I'll play nice with my parents."

[youcouldbeagod]

"What? Oh--" He shakes his head, "no, I meant before, when I ran into him. He didn't seem that different, but...it was too short of a time to notice a lot."

For the shortest, fleeting moment, there's a striking similarity between Paco and the doppelganger Hartley used to know-- a look that's as close to deer-in-headlights as Paco has probably ever been, like he wonders if he over-stepped and said too much. He knows it's a nerve he shouldn't touch, but it had to be brought up.

"Maybe they're different here." It's not much, but it's the closest to a comforting statement he can offer. He just doesn't like the way it almost shut him down to even think about them, the light that the thought of his parents drained from him. Paco would do a lot to keep him safe, keep him happy, and if his parents were a problem... he could remove the problem, quite easily, especially if it seemed like something Hartley wanted.

[auricular_acuity]

"Oh yeah, right, of course," Hartley said, feeling silly. He had just asked that, after all. But it did tell him something. Paco hadn't noticed a massive difference so far. "We'll learn more while you're with him tonight. But it's encouraging that he didn't seem that different immediately."

It was easier to think about his doppelganger than his parents. He was going to have to live in the closet, of course - he couldn't risk otherwise. "Maybe they are, but it doesn't matter," he said softly. "I can't tell them who I really am and risk them being the same. So we'll operate under the assumption that they're the same."

[youcouldbeagod]

"It's definitely comforting. And a need for less work in the long run." Which was a fortunate piece of luck for him, really.

Paco nods a little, "Okay, fair enough." He'd leave it at that, he doesn't want to keep talking about things that upset him. So instead, he tangles his fingers in Hartley's hair and kisses him to get his mind off of it.

[auricular_acuity]

Hartley kisses him back, relaxing under his weight. His hands move up and down Paco's back. He really does appreciate that Paco's worried about him - it's honestly nice that he cares enough.

When their kiss comes to a natural end, Hartley beams up at him and drops a hand to squeeze his ass. "Don't worry, this is going to be great. Now, I've got to get to the library, but when I get back, I'm going to remind you just how great I am... so you don't forget tonight."

[youcouldbeagod]

Paco grins back at him and groans softly in disapproval at the comment about having to leave. "Well...if you must. I guess I can let you go." He leans down to tug playfully on Hart's earlobe. "As long as you follow through on that promise."

He kisses down the side of his neck down to his shoulder, where he lingers for a long moment before finally lifting his head. "I guess you can't go if I don't move, huh?" He rolls slightly to one side, dropping onto the couch next to him, turning his head to grin up at him again.

[auricular_acuity]

Hartley groans as Paco teased him. "I'd never back out on a promise like that," he murmurs.

He snorts with amusement, and pokes a finger into Paco's ribs, testing if he's ticklish. "I've got to hack my family and find out what they're working on right now."

[youcouldbeagod]

"Good." he grins, but his attempt at making him squirm fails, "No dice, honey, I'm not ticklish." He smirks, "I might have to find out later if you are."

He huffs softly, playfully annoyed, "Fiiiine. I hope it's something interesting, at least." He leans up to press a kiss to Harltey's lips. "Hurry back," he mumbles quietly.

[auricular_acuity]

Hartley squirms out from under him, then bends and kisses him, long and deep and full of promise.

"I love you," he whispers. Then straightens. "I'll be back in a few hours."

[youcouldbeagod]

He leans up into the kiss, only just resisting the urge to tug him back down, instead letting him pull away. His heartbeat skips at those words and he isn't sure when he'll ever be able to say them back. "Okay." He says softly, watching him turn to leave.

While Hartley's gone, Paco tries to keep himself busy, but he finds that he can't focus on anything. Today's gonna be a long one. He wants it to be night so he can this damn meeting over with. Eventually, he settles on watching some obscure movie he finds on tv that he nods off midway through.

[auricular_acuity]

Hartley was no less reluctant to pull away, but he needed to do this. He has to be ready.

He goes to a library close to Rathaway industries, finds a computer relatively isolated, and plugs in a device that looks a lot like a usb stick - but isn't.

Hours later, he has taken a thorough look through the highest level files and familiarized himself with the major ongoing projects that his doppelganger is working on.

Two hours before the appointed meeting, Hartley comes back through the door to the apartment. He takes a look at Paco's sleeping face and grins, then leans over to kiss him awake.

[youcouldbeagod]

He stirs and for a second, he's disoriented enough that he almost panics-- but when he realizes it's his boyfriend, he relaxes. Kissing him back fervently, arms sliding around him and tugging Hartley down on top of him.

He reluctantly breaks the kiss to mumble, "D'you find what you were looking for?" He may as well get that part out of the way so he can go back to the fun part.

[auricular_acuity]

"I found a lot," Hartley said, tugging at Paco's clothes and sliding his hands up under his shirt. "I've researched what my double has been doing at work - some pretty interesting projects, actually. I think I've got enough to bluff my way through an initial conversation if it comes up."

[youcouldbeagod]

"Mmm...good," he mutters, sliding one hand into Hartley's hair, tugging him closer and kissing him again, deep and greedy. His free hand slides down Hartley's side to grip his hip, almost as if holding him place.

[auricular_acuity]

Hartley hadn't forgotten his promise. He could've stayed longer, but he wanted to come home with enough time to give Paco the attention he knew he deserved.

He hums into the kiss and slides a hand into Paco's pants, fondling him gently. He drops to one knee beside him, getting comfortable.

[youcouldbeagod]

All too soon, their fun has to come to an end because Paco has to leave for this meeting with Hartley’s double. It’s annoying, more than anything, because now he has to leave the one he actually wants to stay with. But he just reminds himself that it’s for a purpose, and everything will be in their favor once this little reconnaissance mission was complete.

He doesn’t get dressed up for this, partially because it wasn’t that important, and maybe also because if this was a legitimate meeting in the way this other version of Hartley assumed...he still wouldn’t have. He walks over to Hartley and kisses him, softer, sweeter, more lingering than usual. He’s been particularly affectionate today, and it may be a little bit just to assure him this is what he wants. That Hartley Rathaway of E-1 is the superior choice. It may also have a little bit to do with those words he’d said to him today, twice. “I’ll be back as soon as I can be.” He mumbles the promise against Hartley’s lips.

It’s going to be a long night for both of them.