synflux | [closed] we shape our buildings; thereafter, they shape us

M-

[He stops, gaze instantly hitting her ankle. Her words go in and out his ears.]

What happened.

... Jeez, you aren't one for pleasantries.

[ ever. but she knew that, and malkuth reluctantly goes back to drop on her bed as she explains. the implication that he's allowed in is unspoken. ]

I ended up spraining my ankle during the mission, that's all. I thought I could just walk it off -- the medics gave me some painkillers for it and my headache and asked me to swing back if it still hurt in the morning -- but I'm on the mend now.

[ a beat. ]

Or I was, but I had a non-refundable dance class to attend recently... so I'm back to crutches on my longer commutes. I just use this chunky thing for shorter ones.

[He follows after her - the very image of a dog slinking in, awkwardly standing in the middle of the room.]

How did you manage that? Last time I saw you, you were flitting around like a dragonfly.

[Did a kaiju chomp down on her leg? Hard landing, maybe? He sighs, eyebrows knitted together at the explanation.]

A dance class, huh. And how long will this sprain heal?

Worried I won't be able to go out drinking with you?

[ better if she doesn't. but she did say they should get coffee next time... it's just a tease. malkuth rolls over to make room for him, patting the bed. come on then. sit. ]

I'll be fine by the end of the week, I think, but... it was a hard landing. I could feel the Abnormality really starting to chew at my mind, I just didn't realize I was a little too high off the ground when I dropped it off.

No...

[Why would he ever worry about THAT.]

[The invitation gets him to give her a Look....but he relents, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.]

See. E.G.Os aren't always worth the trifle. Doublecheck where you are, next time.

Sorry, but they really are. Especially for nobodies like me. Someone like you can get away without using one, Vergilius.

[ and some of them aren't so lucky.

she'll sit up once he's sat though, fiddling with the brace before she loosens it off to get comfier. the discoloration is more minor than what it may have been before... but it's still definitely there, the last of the bruises from her misstep her bodily evidence. malkuth rubs at it gently, tilting her head up at him. ]

What did you come around for? I can't imagine you were missing me that badly, since you're such a homebody.

...I wouldn't say you're a nobody. But I see your point.

[Which he hates but in this godforsaken City and city, what can you fucking do.]

[The mottled skin of her ankle simply makes him sigh, making him close his eyes momentarily - Malkuth, your ankle - before the question makes him look at her.]

[There's no answer, but he does reach into his pocket, and he pulls out the pin, reaching over to gently pluck a piece of the fabric of her top, before pinning it there and letting it rest back over her chest.]

[ even with her attention drawn to the pin (oh, right, she'd forgotten) her body tenses when his hand plucks at her top, though it's just to clip it where the crown belongs. it's not heavy, but it still feels it a bit weightier than she thinks it ought to be. ]

... Do you still have yours?

[ or did he toss it ]

...

[Again reaching into his pocket - he opens up his hand, and it rests there, in between the lines and scars.]

Yes.

I thought you'd toss it.

[ she wouldn't have been surprised if he did, after all. but it makes her grin, plucking it from his hand to scoot closer and pin it to his shirt, same place as hers after a moment of looking. a gentle pat once it's pinned, hand lingering before it drops back to her lap. ]

Thanks for keeping it safe. I knew I could put my trust in you, Vergilius. [ not a ding on it... ] Wanna hang around for a bit? Since you've made the trip over and all, you might as well.

[ he's the second guy she's invited into her room don't you feel special. coincidentally they're both guys she's facetouched. ]

I'm still thinking about it.

[Which is why he was carrying it in his pocket. OBVIOUSLY.]

[She moves to put it on him, which gets her a huff that's basically "yeah, saw THIS coming", but he doesn't stop her. Only grumbling.]

If I had tasks as easy as that when I was younger, I'd have become a Color in the blink of an eye.

[The question...makes him pause, that mild awkwardness setting in.]

I...don't know what we could do.

[girl help]

[ king, ]

We just sit and talk? Like normal, except without me getting drunk.

[ ... haha... ]

Come on, Vergilius. Surely you're not still awkward around me after all this time. I thought we were making some pretty good progress.

[LOOKING MORE AWKWARD BUT IN A VAGUELY RESENTFUL AND EMBARRASSED KIND OF WAY LIKE A KID WHO'S BEEN FINALLY TOLD THAT HE CAN'T KEEP EATING THE PLAY-DOH]

No. [>8///] I mean. I'm just not...used to something like.

[...]

As normal as...this. I suppose.

Just like you're not used to touching people without hurting them?

[ for the throat... unprovoked... though malkuth's at least giving him the decency of privacy, since her gaze's flitting away to her own hands. the wrist he'd held so carefully, the memory of his thumb like an unseen brand. ]

I'm not glass, just so you know. But I was blown away by how gentle your hands were considering your probable body count... [ softer: ] It was nice.

[ ... and most of the reason she hadn't dropped by before. she clears her throat. okay! okay. stop that. stop that and start babb...ling. yeah. ]

Anyway, um, let's get you used to normal! Though I'm one to talk, actually, I don't usually spend a lot of time with other people in these rooms unless we're doing something, like having a sleepover and such...

...

[He opens his mouth.]

[He closes his mouth.]

[RIGHT in the SOFT SPOT, HUH]

Ngh. [So wordy over here - he's threading one of those traitorous hands through his own hair, pushing his bangs back.] I know you aren't glass. But...I can't help it. With you. And it...wasn't bad.

[That's it for sharing all feelings. Obviously.]

[His gaze flits to her hands again, as if umprompted.]

Really? Where do you spend your time, then...

[ ... no... now she wants to go back to sharing feelings... hold on, can they step back to that, it's making her wish her hands with occupied with literally anything right now. maybe she should invest in a rubix cube bracelet. then she can fiddle with it when she's

nervous, maybe? is that what this is? restless. restless for sure. it's similar to what he said then, too. he wasn't guilty, it just... wasn't bad. glad neither of them can look the other in the eye. her fingers work at the blanket, twisting it around clockwise, counterclockwise, just for something to do. ]

Oh, um... Around. Out and about. Sometimes I'll sit outside the city and draw. Other times I'll just kinda... wander until something catches my eye. I like hanging out in the greenhouse upstairs, too. Have you been? It's gorgeous all year round, I think.

[ so vibrant and colorful... ]

[Nervous Malkuth is...new. Well, not like she's never been nervous before, but there's something to the energy here he can't understand. This was the same lady who banged on his door and wouldn't take no for an answer.]

[And now she's rambling a bit about greenhouses. He swallows - okay, admittedly, he feels restless himself, like part of him wants to stand up and walk out and distract himself with a job - before answering, with his characteristic hoarse whisper.]

No. I...didn't know we had one.

[His gaze tries to find something to focus on. It looks at her hands, worrying knots in the blanket.]

You've never shown me your...drawings, by the way.

I don't really show them off to anyone. March has seen them once, when we were helping to clean the beachfront.

[ but that's about it. malkuth does take the chance to hop up and go to her desk, cluttered in a way that displays a known chaos over a true mess, and pauses as she tries to figure out which sketchbook to pick before bringing back over a blue one. she flips through some of the pages before landing on sketches of buildings, vague ideas that challenge the functional and fashionable. pushing the limits as it were.

malkuth lays it on her lap, fingers folding the corners of pages she lingers on as she talks. ]

It's usually just things for class. I was working on designs focused on structural integrity against rising waves and stuff too, since this city had a flood and all before, but it's mostly just practice and nothing they can't already figure out. Um, and notes about things I've seen as I've walked around too, here and outside with the ruins... But mostly just experimenting.

[ ... boring stuff, really. there's plenty of color to them though, just as she'd described her desire for them to be what felt like ages since. ]

[He wonders why. That's a bit of a surprise. He would've expected her to show it to any Tom, Dick, or Harry who came along, pride in her work and all.]

[She comes over, and he waits patiently, his hands clasped in his lap as she moves through the pages. A vibrant, colorful world. It fits her.]

[(It also fits that voice, he thinks, but he would hope it wouldn't be the same. Not like that.)]

[He reaches over, turning a page of his own before he lets his fingers rest on the edge of the book, gaze trailing over the lines, crisscrossing, meaningful.]

...They're very well done. [He says, quietly, his red eyes overshadowed by his bangs, but vibrant all the same.] It must be nice, to see the world through your eyes.

It was a hard fought battle to see the world like this.

[ she plays with the edge of a page on her side, thinking of the days elijah would try so hard to see the color among blacks and whites, the faded wisps of what was once there, the way the world exploded before her when she'd caught sight of carmen and her faded red scrunchy.

it felt like all the color in the world had been stored inside that woman. it's no wonder so many went to follow her. ]

You can see it too, if you really try! Start small, and eventually you'll start seeing colors where you thought there weren't any before. It's like a fun little game.

[ ... if he wants to, anyway. ]

Of course it must have been.

[Especially in a world like the City, where even a District literally prevents people from seeing color.]

[He heaves a sigh, shaking his head at that. If only it was so easy.]

I'm past being capable of something like that, Malkuth.

You so are not, you grump!

[ smacking him lightly... she's setting the book in his lap to go fish out coloring pencils and a second sketchbook from her desk. ]

Come on. We're going to the greenhouse. I'll make you draw with me.

[WHY SMACK >:////////]

I'm. [Oh, she's already going.] Malkuth. I'm no artist.

[ friendly. do you want her to touch your cheek again big boy. ]

So? No one's born an artist. Come on, it'll be fun! Unless you wanna let me show you how colorful the world can be another way?

[No fucking comment.]

And what would be another way.

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