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!
[ Oberon can't hold back the grin that stretches across his face. He already took glee in bullying a rise out of Ai, and hell, this is the biggest rise he's actually gotten out of her...
...but it's not his newfound success that he's finding so enjoyable right now.
Fuck, he's doomed, isn't he? ]
Uh huh? Do it, then.
[ When will she remember that he sees through her... ah, well, it's a little more justified this time around. In he goes, stepping in and still not putting her down. He's carrying her all the way to her room, whether she likes it or not. ]
[ He says it so smugly that for a second, Ai's tempted to really do it, consequences be damned, just to teach him a lesson. But even that would just be giving him exactly what he wants by proving that he's gotten under her skin badly enough to go to such extremes. If she'd thought ahead, she could have played along enough to try and turn this around on him... but of course, if she'd thought ahead, she wouldn't be in this mortifying situation in the first place.
She really should've just gone to bed. ]
You're the worst. The absolute worst.
[ Still muffled from behind her hands and sounding no less miserably embarrassed for it. Are everybody else's Servants this troublesome?! ]
Next time I won't even bother worrying about you! I'll just let you get in trouble all by yourself!
[ He laughs again... but weirdly, it sounds so much more genuine than any of his other laughs. ]
You're right, I'm the worst.
[ As though the mere fact that she'd looked for him was enough to move him. God, it's completely ridiculous.
...a woman who could love even the twisted Oberon, huh? ]
But unfortunately, you're stuck with me. So sorry about that.
[ It's a good thing Ai is covering her face like that... it keeps her from seeing his oh-so-uncharacteristic expression as he finally reaches her room, where he gently sets her down on the bed. What? She's still in a coat? She's still wearing her shoes? Sorry, not his problem. ]
[ It takes until he actually says her down for her to realise they're actually in her room, that he's carried her all the way here - and under all the embarrassment, alarm and dismay in tandem shoot up through her.
She's not- frightened or anything like that. They share so much space so much of the time, it's probably not the first time he's been in her room. But right now, after everything tonight has been already...
It's too much. It's like having someone press their thumb just a little too hard into a tender bruise. She can't have him in here being so gentle with her right now. It scares her so much she feels sick.
Finally, she peeks at him over the top of her hands. ]
... there. Are you finally done picking on me?
[ The false bravado in her voice is so transparent. But even more so are the feelings bleeding out from her words again: Don't touch me. Don't be kind to me. I can't stand it. ]
[ It's a pain. Such a genuine pain... yet he can't help but understand it. She's not frightened of him, but she's terrified. Maybe he should just leave, and let his Master lie it all away... but he won't.
What can he say? It's in his very nature. All he can do is hurt her.
He reaches out... and puts his hand on Ai's head. ]
...as long as our contract remains in place, I will never leave you.
[ And with those words—only time will tell which part of it is the lie—where his expression is so painfully genuine... he seamlessly changes back into a grin. ]
Basically, you're stuck with me, Ai.
[ So to answer Ai's question as he finally turns to leave... no, no he was not done picking on her. ]
![[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
[ 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
...but it's not his newfound success that he's finding so enjoyable right now.
Fuck, he's doomed, isn't he? ]
Uh huh? Do it, then.
[
When will she remember that he sees through her... ah, well, it's a little more justified this time around.In he goes, stepping in and still not putting her down. He's carrying her all the way to her room, whether she likes it or not. ]no subject
She really should've just gone to bed. ]
You're the worst. The absolute worst.
[ Still muffled from behind her hands and sounding no less miserably embarrassed for it. Are everybody else's Servants this troublesome?! ]
Next time I won't even bother worrying about you! I'll just let you get in trouble all by yourself!
[ once again: she won't. ]
no subject
You're right, I'm the worst.
[ As though the mere fact that she'd looked for him was enough to move him. God, it's completely ridiculous.
...a woman who could love even the twisted Oberon, huh? ]
But unfortunately, you're stuck with me. So sorry about that.
[ It's a good thing Ai is covering her face like that... it keeps her from seeing his oh-so-uncharacteristic expression as he finally reaches her room, where he gently sets her down on the bed. What? She's still in a coat? She's still wearing her shoes? Sorry, not his problem. ]
no subject
She's not- frightened or anything like that. They share so much space so much of the time, it's probably not the first time he's been in her room. But right now, after everything tonight has been already...
It's too much. It's like having someone press their thumb just a little too hard into a tender bruise. She can't have him in here being so gentle with her right now. It scares her so much she feels sick.
Finally, she peeks at him over the top of her hands. ]
... there. Are you finally done picking on me?
[ The false bravado in her voice is so transparent. But even more so are the feelings bleeding out from her words again: Don't touch me. Don't be kind to me. I can't stand it. ]
no subject
What can he say? It's in his very nature. All he can do is hurt her.
He reaches out... and puts his hand on Ai's head. ]
...as long as our contract remains in place, I will never leave you.
[ And with those words—only time will tell which part of it is the lie—where his expression is so painfully genuine... he seamlessly changes back into a grin. ]
Basically, you're stuck with me, Ai.
[ So to answer Ai's question as he finally turns to leave... no, no he was not done picking on her. ]