[ She's already spinning all manner of excuses in her head, justifications to make him stay just a few seconds longer. If this was anyone else, maybe she would just admit what it is she wants and why - not that she's ever been any good at that - but the thought of trying to do that with him makes her words dry up in her mouth. He'd told her not to lie to him and she's been doing her best not to but that doesn't mean she can suddenly start coming out with the truth.
Not that it matters, anyway. The instant she's wrapped up in his arms again, all of her breath comes out of her, soft and surprised. This time too, she's stiff and uncertain - afraid all over again for all the wrong reasons.
Even though he's so warm, Ai's still shaking. ]
Don't... [ don't touch me. don't leave me. ] You shouldn't.. [ don't hold me. you shouldn't be kind to me. ]
[ Don't hate me. Don't be kind to me. Don't hurt me. Don't hold me.
No wonder he calls her troublesome. ]
I mean... I-if we really were followed, then...
[ Her voice trembles, too. She's scared. But not of the Assassin. ]
[ Of course, despite the fact that she doesn't shut up, he doesn't leave. He clicks his tongue in annoyance, but his hold on her remains. She's troublesome, it's the only way Oberon can describe her. Don't touch, don't leave, don't hold, don't hate... ]
Decide on what you want already, damn it...
[ He whispers it under his breath, but he's close enough that Ai will be able to hear it anyways. He rests his head on top of hers and sighs. ]
I fought my ass off for you, so I'll do whatever I want.
[ Including touching you, holding you, being kind to you... well, maybe scratch that last part, he's still an ass... but he won't be leaving either. ]
[ Decide what she wants, huh? Wouldn't it make things so much easier if she could? Maybe if she'd ever been allowed to have anything back when she'd still been stupid enough to try asking, she'd have a better idea. But she's spent so much of her life giving everyone else the things they want, she doesn't know how to do it for herself anymore.
So, if Oberon says this is something he wants, that makes it easier. So easy that it scares her. It's pathetic to cling so tightly to someone who's only here because they have to be, but if he gives her the slightest excuse to indulge when her heart's in such tatters- ]
... Is that... really okay?
[ Small, meek, apologetic. The frightened little voice that could never come out of Ai of B-Komachi, but that so often finds itself in the mouth of Hoshino Ai instead. ]
I'm no good as a Master. I'm even worse as a person. I know I'm more trouble than I'm worth. S-so... is this... really okay?
[ He says nothing at first, of course he doesn't. Oberon Vortigern will never be able to say what she needs to hear, because what she needs to hear is the truth, not a lie.
But... he brings a hand up to cup Ai's cheek. ]
...just be quiet already.
[ It's all he can say, all he can allow himself to say, as he holds her so carefully... as if she's made of fragile porcelain, not wanting to shatter her with his grip, but gripping tight so as to not let go. ]
[ Her heart feels like it's dropping into her stomach. If he'd snapped at her, made it clear this was an indulgence entirely for his own benefit and nothing more then that would be fine. She could remind herself that they're Master and Servant even if they playact at being equals and any hint of intimacy or care between them is just a necessary transaction. She's an idol, after all. She knows how this works better than anyone.
So it's terrifying to be faced with this. If she knows he can be gentle, if there's even the tiniest part of him that has any attachment to her whatsoever, enough for something like this...
Again, Ai slumps against him. Her fingers curl into his shirt. He's not leaving but she needs to anchor him against her anyway. And she doesn't trust herself to do anything more with her hands. ]
Mm. I'll be quiet. I'll- whatever it is, I'll do it. So stay just a little longer.
[ She hates the note of a plea in her voice even as she can't stop it from bleeding though. ]
[ His arm around her waist tightens, and he goes silent once again. He'd never exactly respected Ai's personal space before, but he's never been quite so close either.
Her hair is wet with rainwater and matted with blood. There's nothing at all pleasant about having his face in it right now. She's filthy, covered in blood, sweaty too... though being soaked in rainwater mitigates that to a certain extent. Fans of Ai might expect her to smell much more pleasant, but right now, she's anything but.
Yet despite Oberon's claimed hatred of filth and such, he doesn't feel like that at all right now.
He doesn't leave, he just holds her. The door to the apartment was kicked completely off it's hinges and is now laying flat on the other side of the room, so the sound of heavy rain is louder as a result, but he doesn't even move to deal with that. Sure, it'll have to be dealt with eventually, but...
...he can't help but realize that it feels good to touch her like this. ]
[ Ai isn't exactly starved of touch, she doesn't think. She's done so many handshake sessions that sometimes, it feels like the sensation of someone else's hands in hers is permanently imprinted on her skin. But nobody's allowed to get close enough to hold her like this. She does it for Aqua and Ruby all the time but that isn't the same as someone doing it for her.
She knows this is a terrible idea. This will go terribly wrong because it always does - she's never known how to do any of it right and she ruins everything every time. She doesn't dare hope that she might have learned her lesson at last just because she finally paid for her mistakes in blood.
But he's warm. And he's being so gentle with her. And when she'd cried out for his help, he'd been at her side in an instant.
Oh, she's in deep, deep trouble, isn't she?
It's Ai who pulls away first, - after much too long, enough time that doesn't know if she'd been in his arms for minutes or an hour. It's not a rejection - it's a retreat. ]
... I, um... I'll need to take a bath.
[ It's true - but even she knows what a transparent excuse it is and she can't bring herself to look at him as she says it. ]
[ He holds her for a long, long time. Not that Oberon has any way of telling how long it's been, he simply hadn't much cared. She was filthy, she was covered in blood, yet... he couldn't get enough of her.
...oh, they're both in trouble, aren't they?
Her sudden retreat is almost perceived as a rejection, but even without his eyes, it wouldn't have taken long to realize that it's decidedly a retreat. He knows this even faster thanks to what he's able to see... yet when she suddenly pulls out of his arms, he... ]
Ah...
[ He finds himself reaching out to grab her again. An act that he realizes and stops halfway, but the damage is already done. He's got his arm raised halfway, as if to pull her back, but stopped before he could actually grab her.
His eyes are wide with realization for a moment before promptly pulling his hand back. ]
...good, about time.
[ She's lying, they're both lying, it's disgusting... but he doesn't say anything else. ]
[ It takes a second for her to know what to do with her face. She won't let herself seem disappointed, even if she is, because they're already treading such dangerous ground as it is.
Finally though, she manages to wrench a smile into place. It's thin and apologetic, a little awkward - but it's stitched together so perfectly that it almost looks real. Even at a time like this, she can pride herself on performing the right kind of smile. ]
Sorry. I really did make a mess of this, huh? Ah, but if it's healed now then I should be able to clean everything up when I'm done...
[ She's babbling. In her feeble attempt to make this all normal again, she's making things worse.
But she manages to peek up at his face. Her fingers in his shirt tighten just for a second, then... ]
[ Oh... what a truly wicked woman, she is. He wants to grab her, pull her back in and say no, you're mine. What a thought for him to have, huh? Him, the Abyssal Wyrm, the embodiment of an infinite hole that consumes all, a void of endless falling... and he wants to pull her in.
He's completely silent as she lets him go. He keeps his hands tight to his sides, keeping them from reaching out and dragging her back into his arms whether she likes it or not.
This feeling... it hurts like hell.
But it's for the best. They both have things they need to do. Ai needs to clean herself up, Oberon needs to fortify their defenses... they can't stay falling like that forever.
Yet once Ai leaves, he can't help but put a hand up to his forehead and sigh. ]
...shit.
[ ...he should start setting up that bounded field now, shouldn't he? ]
[ When Ai makes her way from the room, she's impressed with herself that she manages not to run. She's definitely fleeing but she doesn't want to make it that much more obvious - and she doesn't quite trust her legs to carry her that fast, besides. She goes without glancing back, forces herself to keep her pace steady and it's only when she reaches the entrance before the bath that she shuts the door and lets herself slowly sink down to the floor and press her face into her hands.
It's fine. She can make everything go back to normal in the morning. She's only feeling like this because she's so shaken up - they call that the suspension bridge effect, right? Confusing fear and alarm for excitement and something else. She's had plenty of the former this evening, so it wouldn't be a surprise.
She's telling herself things like that over and over as she washes, scrubbing her hair until her scalp aches and doing the same to her skin in all the places she still sees blood until she's red and raw. She thinks she still smells blood, so she pours every offensively scented product she can find over her body, citrus and strawberries, summer flowers and winter fruits until even she knows the last dregs of the heavy, coppery smell are only in her imagination.
It's almost an hour later that she finally emerges, dressed for bed and her hair still just damp enough to cling to her neck. She knows the smart thing to do is go right to bed and greet the morning while pretending none of this had happened, but...
If this evening has proven anything, it's that Ai's not particularly good at doing the smart thing. So, still pale and shaky, she makes her way back to the living room. Just to make sure things have calmed down, she tells herself. ]
[ When Ai returns to the living room... well, not a lot has changed. The sofa is still stained with blood, which isn't too surprising, since Oberon has never ever cleaned up the place... but more than that, it's empty. His cloak, bloodied and wet, is still exactly where Ai left it when she retreated.
The rain outside has slowed to a halt, no longer beating heavily against the windows. The sky is still dark, but it won't be long until it starts to brighten. They had fought late into the night, after all.
But none of that really matters, does it? He's not here. ]
[ She can only have been stood there staring into the empty room for a few moments but with her mind suddenly whirring in alarm, it feels like that much longer. With the wind and rain no longer battering the windows, it's eerily quiet. It's exactly how things should sound this late into the night and yet something about it seems sinister.
He said he was going to make sure they weren't followed. If she's still here and nothing has happened, then everything should be fine. She should just go to bed and when morning comes, everything will be just fine, right?
Hah. Even she's not that good of a liar. ]
Wh... where...
[ Again, that awful note of a plea in her voice. She tries to swallow it back but she can't.
As if on autopilot, Ai makes for the door quicker than she should. She fumbles to shove on a coat, stunbles into her shoes and then goes tripping out past the broken door as well. ]
[ It'd be nice if he were there, just standing out in the hallway, where he could've easily heard and responded to Ai when she asked out loud to the empty living room if he was still there... maybe playing some kind of mean-spirited prank, but no, he's not there either. The hallway is as empty as one would expect it to be at this hour, it's honestly nothing unusual.
Well, except for one thing... a single white moth perched on the hallway railing, as if waiting for her. A moth that Ai may have seen every now and then whenever Oberon was out and about as the Fairy King. Blanca was her name, wasn't it?
She stares at Ai briefly before her wings start to flutter, and she starts to fly towards the building stairs. Their apartment is already on the top floor of the building, there's really only one place the stairs can go from there. ]
[ She's got it all wrong. She knows she's panicking, overreacting, that she's being so beyond ridiculous right now that it isn't funny. She tells herself that she's not going to chase after this any further, no matter how sick the dingy, empty hallway makes her feel. She'll turn back around, go to bed and everything will go back to normal. So long as she keeps repeating that to herself, it's sure to happen.
(What a joke.)
She goes stumbling up the stairs after the moth, taking them two at a time even as they catch her feet on the way up. She makes it up without any further incident, wretches the door to the roof open and goes staggering out into the cool night air without a bit of grace.
Blanca lead her up here. So surely Oberon has to be here too. If he's not, then what will she even do? ]
[ Weirdly, once Ai reaches the top of the stairs, Blanca is nowhere to be seen... vanishing without a trace as Ai swings open the door and staggers out onto the rooftop.
...and there he is, crouched in the center of the rooftop. There's some kind of glowing sigil in front of him, something clearly magical, even to the eyes of a non-magus such as Ai. He might be something of a strange sight, if only because of the lack of his usual cloak, which had been left in the apartment.
He almost looks like a normal man, if not for the dragonfly wings on his back and the way one of his hands and both of his feet turn dark and insectoid. ]
[ The first thing Ai thinks, under the relief of seeing that he's there in the first place is just how much... smaller he looks without the cloak. She's so used to the shape of it bulking out his silhouette that it make the impression of him she has in her mind seem even taller and more imposing than he already is - which is probably exactly the point. He's still that much taller than her without it but the contrast takes her aback for a moment even so.
The second thing she realises is... she uh, really doesn't have a good excuse to have followed him out here, does she? Especially since she was the one to retreat first and now here she is trailing after him all the same. Even she can tell she's sending mixed messages.
A gust of chilly night air whisks her hair back from her face. Even with her coat thrown on over her pajamas, it's much too cold to be out here. But here she is. ]
I, um...
[ Quickly as she can, she forces a smile. ]
I was just wondering how things were going. I don't really know how long anything like this takes, so...
[ There. That's... close enough to being the truth, right? ]
[ He's a lot ganglier than he looks, isn't he? Long arms, long legs, pale skin... well, it's somewhat fitting for his lifestyle, at least. His surprise keeps him silent at first. Honestly, he knows her better than she realizes at this point, he expected her to just go to bed and try to sleep things off so that they can try to awkwardly pretend they didn't experience feelings in the morning.
Seems even with Fae Eyes, he's not above experiencing a plot twist. Still, even with that in mind... you'd think she'd know better at this point.
He's always been able to see through her, after all. It doesn't really matter if it's a half-lie. He sighs and starts to trudge toward her... ]
Idiot. The hell do you think you're doing out here?
[ ...puts his hands on her coat and adjusts it, pulling it tighter around her. ]
If you catch a cold, I'm going to actually get pissed, damn it.
[ This time, she manages not to wince. She still doesn't feel quite as in control of her feelings as she'd like to be so her stomach flips uncertainly in response to his words - really, after tonight, she's going to have that much harder of a time predicting him, isn't she?
A long, slow breath comes out of her. Then she hitches another smile onto her face - bright and clueless. ]
I'll be fine. Idols don't catch colds.
[ that's not how that saying... ok whatever.
Her eyes flick up from his hands to his face. She can't quite make herself met his gaze, though, so hers drifts to the side and away from him again. ]
... Besides. You're one to talk. At least I have a coat.
[ There, see? Totally normal conversation. Nothing out of the ordinary going on here. ]
Just go ahead and admit you're an idiot, why don't you!?
[ He knows what the saying is supposed to be, you handful of an idol. His eye twitches, his hands briefly grip her coat a little too tightly. She's a handful, a pain, a wicked woman...
...how else can this feeling in his chest—nay, his spirit core even—that makes him want to just... dematerialize on the spot and refuse to come back out. ]
Seriously... thinking I had left you...
[ ...fuck it, he suddenly hoists his Master up onto her shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he usually does when it comes to carrying her around, and starts to walk back towards the stairs. ]
[ And like she always does when he scoops her up like that, Ai yelps in surprise. ]
Wh- hold on, wait just a second...!
[ Immediately, she's wriggling like a cat that doesn't want to be carried. She's protesting a whole lot more than she usually does and definitely more empathetically than she did earlier - that was still all kinds of embarrassing but at least it was necessary. This is just flat out embarrassing. ]
I can walk just fine by myself, so put me down...!
[ It's the middle of the night and they're making all this noise. Between this and the way they arrived home, who even knows what the neighbours think. ]
[ Oberon may have no fucking clue what to do about his feelings right now, but he very clearly enjoys fucking with Ai like this, so it's a nice distraction. ]
Nope. Can't have my Master wandering away when I'm not looking.
[ Going all-in on that cat comparison, huh? Nevermind that Ai is a bunny, not a cat. Unfortunately, considering everything that just happened, including-but-not-limited-to a considerable amount of blood loss, she really can't hope to overpower a Servant right now just by wriggling. Besides, she came at a good time, the Bounded Field is... well, the quality is about as much as you can expect from someone who learned how to do something like that within a few days and never did it ever again, but it'll at least alert them if anything enters the general vicinity. ]
...ugh, you smell awful. Pick one goddamn bottle and stick with it.
[ There's so many things here to object to, she doesn't even know where to start!!! She's still wriggling in an abjectly pathetic attempt to free herself and it's only when it becomes clear that she's not going to get free (and she's at risk of kicking one of her shoes off besides that) that she finally surrenders to her fate.
He gets that this is embarrassing, right? Of course he does. Bullying a rise out of her is practically one of his favourite hobbies. But does he seriously not get this is kind of loaded right now?! She's supposed to be the one who can't read the room! ]
[ Well, that's it. The Assassin might not have been able to do their job but it doesn't matter because Ai's dead anyway. Her response comes out muffled because she's gone and covered her face with both hands to make absolutely sure he can't see her face. ]
Worse! Definitely, definitely worse!
[ She knows she's giving him exactly what he wants by giving him a response like that, but maybe if she protests annoyingly enough, he'll lose his patience with her and dump her back into her feet anyway. ]
I can walk by myself so just put me down! I'll use a Command Spell to make you do it if I have to! Really, I will!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Not that it matters, anyway. The instant she's wrapped up in his arms again, all of her breath comes out of her, soft and surprised. This time too, she's stiff and uncertain - afraid all over again for all the wrong reasons.
Even though he's so warm, Ai's still shaking. ]
Don't... [ don't touch me. don't leave me. ] You shouldn't.. [ don't hold me. you shouldn't be kind to me. ]
[ Don't hate me. Don't be kind to me. Don't hurt me. Don't hold me.
No wonder he calls her troublesome. ]
I mean... I-if we really were followed, then...
[ Her voice trembles, too. She's scared. But not of the Assassin. ]
no subject
Decide on what you want already, damn it...
[ He whispers it under his breath, but he's close enough that Ai will be able to hear it anyways. He rests his head on top of hers and sighs. ]
I fought my ass off for you, so I'll do whatever I want.
[ Including touching you, holding you, being kind to you... well, maybe scratch that last part, he's still an ass... but he won't be leaving either. ]
no subject
So, if Oberon says this is something he wants, that makes it easier. So easy that it scares her. It's pathetic to cling so tightly to someone who's only here because they have to be, but if he gives her the slightest excuse to indulge when her heart's in such tatters- ]
... Is that... really okay?
[ Small, meek, apologetic. The frightened little voice that could never come out of Ai of B-Komachi, but that so often finds itself in the mouth of Hoshino Ai instead. ]
I'm no good as a Master. I'm even worse as a person. I know I'm more trouble than I'm worth. S-so... is this... really okay?
no subject
But... he brings a hand up to cup Ai's cheek. ]
...just be quiet already.
[ It's all he can say, all he can allow himself to say, as he holds her so carefully... as if she's made of fragile porcelain, not wanting to shatter her with his grip, but gripping tight so as to not let go. ]
That's all you need to do...
no subject
So it's terrifying to be faced with this. If she knows he can be gentle, if there's even the tiniest part of him that has any attachment to her whatsoever, enough for something like this...
Again, Ai slumps against him. Her fingers curl into his shirt. He's not leaving but she needs to anchor him against her anyway. And she doesn't trust herself to do anything more with her hands. ]
Mm. I'll be quiet. I'll- whatever it is, I'll do it. So stay just a little longer.
[ She hates the note of a plea in her voice even as she can't stop it from bleeding though. ]
no subject
[ His arm around her waist tightens, and he goes silent once again. He'd never exactly respected Ai's personal space before, but he's never been quite so close either.
Her hair is wet with rainwater and matted with blood. There's nothing at all pleasant about having his face in it right now. She's filthy, covered in blood, sweaty too... though being soaked in rainwater mitigates that to a certain extent. Fans of Ai might expect her to smell much more pleasant, but right now, she's anything but.
Yet despite Oberon's claimed hatred of filth and such, he doesn't feel like that at all right now.
He doesn't leave, he just holds her. The door to the apartment was kicked completely off it's hinges and is now laying flat on the other side of the room, so the sound of heavy rain is louder as a result, but he doesn't even move to deal with that. Sure, it'll have to be dealt with eventually, but...
...he can't help but realize that it feels good to touch her like this. ]
no subject
She knows this is a terrible idea. This will go terribly wrong because it always does - she's never known how to do any of it right and she ruins everything every time. She doesn't dare hope that she might have learned her lesson at last just because she finally paid for her mistakes in blood.
But he's warm. And he's being so gentle with her. And when she'd cried out for his help, he'd been at her side in an instant.
Oh, she's in deep, deep trouble, isn't she?
It's Ai who pulls away first, - after much too long, enough time that doesn't know if she'd been in his arms for minutes or an hour. It's not a rejection - it's a retreat. ]
... I, um... I'll need to take a bath.
[ It's true - but even she knows what a transparent excuse it is and she can't bring herself to look at him as she says it. ]
I'll be okay by myself now.
no subject
...oh, they're both in trouble, aren't they?
Her sudden retreat is almost perceived as a rejection, but even without his eyes, it wouldn't have taken long to realize that it's decidedly a retreat. He knows this even faster thanks to what he's able to see... yet when she suddenly pulls out of his arms, he... ]
Ah...
[ He finds himself reaching out to grab her again. An act that he realizes and stops halfway, but the damage is already done. He's got his arm raised halfway, as if to pull her back, but stopped before he could actually grab her.
His eyes are wide with realization for a moment before promptly pulling his hand back. ]
...good, about time.
[ She's lying, they're both lying, it's disgusting... but he doesn't say anything else. ]
no subject
Finally though, she manages to wrench a smile into place. It's thin and apologetic, a little awkward - but it's stitched together so perfectly that it almost looks real. Even at a time like this, she can pride herself on performing the right kind of smile. ]
Sorry. I really did make a mess of this, huh? Ah, but if it's healed now then I should be able to clean everything up when I'm done...
[ She's babbling. In her feeble attempt to make this all normal again, she's making things worse.
But she manages to peek up at his face. Her fingers in his shirt tighten just for a second, then... ]
... thank you.
[ She lets him go. ]
no subject
He's completely silent as she lets him go. He keeps his hands tight to his sides, keeping them from reaching out and dragging her back into his arms whether she likes it or not.
This feeling... it hurts like hell.
But it's for the best. They both have things they need to do. Ai needs to clean herself up, Oberon needs to fortify their defenses... they can't stay
fallinglike that forever.Yet once Ai leaves, he can't help but put a hand up to his forehead and sigh. ]
...shit.
[ ...he should start setting up that bounded field now, shouldn't he? ]
no subject
It's fine. She can make everything go back to normal in the morning. She's only feeling like this because she's so shaken up - they call that the suspension bridge effect, right? Confusing fear and alarm for excitement and something else. She's had plenty of the former this evening, so it wouldn't be a surprise.
She's telling herself things like that over and over as she washes, scrubbing her hair until her scalp aches and doing the same to her skin in all the places she still sees blood until she's red and raw. She thinks she still smells blood, so she pours every offensively scented product she can find over her body, citrus and strawberries, summer flowers and winter fruits until even she knows the last dregs of the heavy, coppery smell are only in her imagination.
It's almost an hour later that she finally emerges, dressed for bed and her hair still just damp enough to cling to her neck. She knows the smart thing to do is go right to bed and greet the morning while pretending none of this had happened, but...
If this evening has proven anything, it's that Ai's not particularly good at doing the smart thing. So, still pale and shaky, she makes her way back to the living room. Just to make sure things have calmed down, she tells herself. ]
Um... are you still here?
no subject
The rain outside has slowed to a halt, no longer beating heavily against the windows. The sky is still dark, but it won't be long until it starts to brighten. They had fought late into the night, after all.
But none of that really matters, does it? He's not here. ]
no subject
He said he was going to make sure they weren't followed. If she's still here and nothing has happened, then everything should be fine. She should just go to bed and when morning comes, everything will be just fine, right?
Hah. Even she's not that good of a liar. ]
Wh... where...
[ Again, that awful note of a plea in her voice. She tries to swallow it back but she can't.
As if on autopilot, Ai makes for the door quicker than she should. She fumbles to shove on a coat, stunbles into her shoes and then goes tripping out past the broken door as well. ]
Oberon! Where did you...?!
no subject
Well, except for one thing... a single white moth perched on the hallway railing, as if waiting for her. A moth that Ai may have seen every now and then whenever Oberon was out and about as the Fairy King. Blanca was her name, wasn't it?
She stares at Ai briefly before her wings start to flutter, and she starts to fly towards the building stairs. Their apartment is already on the top floor of the building, there's really only one place the stairs can go from there. ]
no subject
(What a joke.)
She goes stumbling up the stairs after the moth, taking them two at a time even as they catch her feet on the way up. She makes it up without any further incident, wretches the door to the roof open and goes staggering out into the cool night air without a bit of grace.
Blanca lead her up here. So surely Oberon has to be here too. If he's not, then what will she even do? ]
no subject
...and there he is, crouched in the center of the rooftop. There's some kind of glowing sigil in front of him, something clearly magical, even to the eyes of a non-magus such as Ai. He might be something of a strange sight, if only because of the lack of his usual cloak, which had been left in the apartment.
He almost looks like a normal man, if not for the dragonfly wings on his back and the way one of his hands and both of his feet turn dark and insectoid. ]
...huh?
[ He looks surprised to see her. ]
no subject
The second thing she realises is... she uh, really doesn't have a good excuse to have followed him out here, does she? Especially since she was the one to retreat first and now here she is trailing after him all the same. Even she can tell she's sending mixed messages.
A gust of chilly night air whisks her hair back from her face. Even with her coat thrown on over her pajamas, it's much too cold to be out here. But here she is. ]
I, um...
[ Quickly as she can, she forces a smile. ]
I was just wondering how things were going. I don't really know how long anything like this takes, so...
[ There. That's... close enough to being the truth, right? ]
no subject
He's a lot ganglier than he looks, isn't he? Long arms, long legs, pale skin... well, it's somewhat fitting for his lifestyle, at least.His surprise keeps him silent at first. Honestly, he knows her better than she realizes at this point, he expected her to just go to bed and try to sleep things off so that they can try to awkwardly pretend they didn't experience feelings in the morning.Seems even with Fae Eyes, he's not above experiencing a plot twist. Still, even with that in mind... you'd think she'd know better at this point.
He's always been able to see through her, after all. It doesn't really matter if it's a half-lie. He sighs and starts to trudge toward her... ]
Idiot. The hell do you think you're doing out here?
[ ...puts his hands on her coat and adjusts it, pulling it tighter around her. ]
If you catch a cold, I'm going to actually get pissed, damn it.
no subject
A long, slow breath comes out of her. Then she hitches another smile onto her face - bright and clueless. ]
I'll be fine. Idols don't catch colds.
[ that's not how that saying... ok whatever.
Her eyes flick up from his hands to his face. She can't quite make herself met his gaze, though, so hers drifts to the side and away from him again. ]
... Besides. You're one to talk. At least I have a coat.
[ There, see? Totally normal conversation. Nothing out of the ordinary going on here. ]
no subject
[ He knows what the saying is supposed to be, you handful of an idol. His eye twitches, his hands briefly grip her coat a little too tightly. She's a handful, a pain, a wicked woman...
...how else can this feeling in his chest—nay, his spirit core even—that makes him want to just... dematerialize on the spot and refuse to come back out. ]
Seriously... thinking I had left you...
[ ...fuck it, he suddenly hoists his Master up onto her shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he usually does when it comes to carrying her around, and starts to walk back towards the stairs. ]
You really are an idiot...
no subject
Wh- hold on, wait just a second...!
[ Immediately, she's wriggling like a cat that doesn't want to be carried. She's protesting a whole lot more than she usually does and definitely more empathetically than she did earlier - that was still all kinds of embarrassing but at least it was necessary. This is just flat out embarrassing. ]
I can walk just fine by myself, so put me down...!
[ It's the middle of the night and they're making all this noise. Between this and the way they arrived home, who even knows what the neighbours think. ]
no subject
Nope. Can't have my Master wandering away when I'm not looking.
[
Going all-in on that cat comparison, huh? Nevermind that Ai is a bunny, not a cat.Unfortunately, considering everything that just happened, including-but-not-limited-to a considerable amount of blood loss, she really can't hope to overpower a Servant right now just by wriggling. Besides, she came at a good time, the Bounded Field is... well, the quality is about as much as you can expect from someone who learned how to do something like that within a few days and never did it ever again, but it'll at least alert them if anything enters the general vicinity. ]...ugh, you smell awful. Pick one goddamn bottle and stick with it.
[
Thanks, you absolute ass.]no subject
[ There's so many things here to object to, she doesn't even know where to start!!! She's still wriggling in an abjectly pathetic attempt to free herself and it's only when it becomes clear that she's not going to get free (and she's at risk of kicking one of her shoes off besides that) that she finally surrenders to her fate.
He gets that this is embarrassing, right? Of course he does. Bullying a rise out of her is practically one of his favourite hobbies. But does he seriously not get this is kind of loaded right now?! She's supposed to be the one who can't read the room! ]
I won't wander off! I wasn't planning to! I just-
[ Pause. Swallow. ]
... you were gone for so long, I got worried.
no subject
Ugh, now he's lying even in his own thoughts. ]
...
[ With that said, her words make him pause, right in front of their broken door no less. ]
Well... that's what makes you an idiot, isn't it?
[ He sighs... or is it a scoff? Either way, Ai will suddenly find herself moving again, pulled off his shoulder and into his arms instead. ]
...better?
[ Is it less embarrassing to be held like a princess? Honestly, Oberon isn't actually sure. ]
no subject
Worse! Definitely, definitely worse!
[ She knows she's giving him exactly what he wants by giving him a response like that, but maybe if she protests annoyingly enough, he'll lose his patience with her and dump her back into her feet anyway. ]
I can walk by myself so just put me down! I'll use a Command Spell to make you do it if I have to! Really, I will!
[ she won't ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)