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

Mm.

[She pulls back - he misses it already, but he'll mentally admonish himself for being a little too selfish perhaps - and is content with the hand holding. He still doesn't want to believe in this. It's too good to be true. A wretched thing like him should not have kindness offered to him on a silver platter.]

[But he relents, if slightly, nods, and lets his hands grip hers with a squeeze of his own.]

...Is this you just saying you'll continue to be a constant menace in my life?

Did you think I'd stop?

[ please. like this, malkuth lifts one arm and turns herself under it for a different kind of hug, back to his chest. ha. sucker. ]

I think you enjoy my obnoxious company too much.

Edited 2024-04-10 20:23 (UTC)

[erghhhHHHHHHHHHHHHH]

[AFFECTION >:/]

Jury is still out on that one. [OBVIOUSLY]

And you were being so cute before.

[ when he was awkward... maybe it's easier for him to breath when they're not face to face, like it is for her. malkuth'll move one of his hands to her neck, warm and soft. just to press his knuckle against her quick pulse there.

she likes his grumpy company, at least. ]

Now you won't know if I'm coming over to take you out or come in.

I'm not cute.

[LOOK AT HIM!!!! HE'S CORPSE MADS MIKKELSEN!!!]

[But his hand being pulled to her neck like this makes his eyes widen slightly - he could easily imagine another scenario where these same hands would strangle an enemy, crush a windpipe - but he's letting them rest here, over this pulse.]

[Alive. Alive. How very alive.]

[He swallows, his Adam's apple moving up and down.]

You won't even warn me? How mean of you.

What, [ her teasing words a hum against his hand, ] and let you escape?

[ who's the wolf again? ]

I'll be kind, don't worry. You'll know when we're going out.

...

[He's glad that his ears are hidden by his hair because he can feel them heating up a little because hi. What the fuck.]

[Acchem.]

You are going to allow me to have some time to myself sometimes, right...

[ why can't you get hot over her cute smile ]

Of course! I need time for myself too, you know.

[ she'll stop teasing him, untwirling from his arms and letting their hands loosen. just fingers, if he'd still like to hold. ]

Thanks for bringing back my pin, Vergilius. We should go up to the greenhouse sometime though, it'll be a nice date.

[Of course he'd like to hold, because he's weak and he loves it too much and he can't help it.]

Mm. [He's looking at their hands now. His fingertips trace down into her palms, thumbs caressing the sides of her hands. A date....he doesn't know how to feel about that. Weird and fluttering all at once, like he swallowed a fairy. No. It's nothing. Just a word.] You'd think this guide is too old for such things...

[ that's nice, too. the small explorations of her hands, shifting on her feet as she's preoccupied with the movements herself. they're ticklish in a way, leave a lingering path beyond his scars against her softness, and malkuth is thankful for the way her face can hide this way.

he can't help it, with her. treating her so delicately. the admittance still chimes in her ears, the hands between them proof of concept. ]

You'd think. [ correction. ] But you're not. I'm sure there's even grandparents that still go out on dates with each other here.

[ here, here. where the city shouldn't be able to touch them, but the bruises of its grasp remains. she'll tease a little. ]

Don't I make you feel young again?

Please. I'm not that old...

[He's only middle-aged....old but not that old.........please spare him......]

[He sighs at the question. Because when he was young, what was he? An unfeeling machine, someone who tried to rise up in the ranks, perhaps? That man who destroyed a Syndicate in one day?]

[He shakes his head, leaning in to rest his cheek lightly against the top of her head. It all hurts. This may only be a temporary balm for his soul, but even a moth can't avoid the light.]

I'm not sure about "young". That was a distant country, of sorts. An island I won't return to. But this makes me think of....possibility.

[ quit calling yourself old then... she'll tease him all day.

... only to freeze, a little, at his cheek against her head. she eases after the initial surprise, not wanting to scare away the broken-winged bird that'd come to settle in her still-new branches. if only for a short rest. ]

... Possibility is colorful, you know.

[ she rubs his hands in turn, marveling at the crevices and feel of time, work, and tragedy that lay within them. she wishes they would wrap around her again and resists, squeezing them lightly instead. ]

So I'm glad I succeeded.

[He's still timid - a funny word, for a monster - but this still feels so new, so open, that it almost makes his chest burn like he wants to throw it all out of him.]

[(He doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve this.)]

[And you think I do? she says.]

[He sighs, and it rattles through his chest. His eyes close, fretfully.]

You're a determined one, Miss Duck.

I didn't become who I am by giving up, you old goose. But maybe if I did, I wouldn't be on a third life.

[ who could say.

... why's she got plans tonight... it'd be so easy to see if he'd stick with her for longer... he probably would, regretful enough. her ankle is starting to ache just a little again though, now that she's not too distracted by the patter of her heart, and after a moment she'll pull away to sit back on her bed.

but drag him too come here. malkuth's scooting to give him more than the edge of it he better take it. ]

How confident are you with your hands?

[ don't take it the wrong way. ]

[That's true. He doesn't see that the Malkuth he knows now would even have "giving up" in her dictionary.]

[She shifts back - he turns, like a sunflower, almost involuntarily - before that question makes him. Blink.]

Ha? Pardon?

You're not deaf. My ankle hurts, and it felt better when someone massaged it last time. I'm pretty bad at it.

[ so. she'll prop it over to him. please... ]

... And I'd like a reason to keep you here a little longer. Me and some of the other girls have plans tonight, so I can't go out like usual.

[ she has to make sure she has proper time to rest. ]

[Okay....he's sitting down.]

[He takes her foot over his knee, looks at it for a moment.]

[His hands have wrought nothing but destruction.]

[But they have also held the hands of children, lifted them up onto his shoulders. These hands have clasped the shoulders of his friends.]

[They have done some good, in the midst of the sea of bad.]

[Carefully, he's reaching over to knead around the ankle slowly, making circular motions as he lets it move up into her lower leg and down again.]

......What plans....?

[ yeah... that's nice. malkuth'll drag her pillow and some stuffed animals she's collected to help prop herself up, comfy as she closes her eyes with a pleased sigh. focusing on the feel of the gentle pressure, a necessary hardness in the slow kneading motions. different than in the hands of kaito, who'd warmed it with magic and let her walk around with a little less pain for the rest of the day. both are good. ]

A girl's night out... We're going up to the hot springs to unwind and get to know each other better. I'm pretty excited, since I only had my first sleepover recently too.

[ last month is still recent. it was like, two weeks ago. ]

But I've been working on my girl talk with March, so I think it'll go smoothly.

I see.

[Girls night out...sleepovers.....yes. Definitely stuff outside his window of expertise. He hopes the boys won't do anything similar. (Somewhere, Kaito sneezing.)]

[His hands move to around the top of her foot, rubbing it down in thin, firm lines to the ankle. This feels...different than just the embrace and hand holding from before. The colorful bruises catch his eyes, and he wishes they could disappear in an instant, wipe them away with his hands. No more pain. No more pain, if he can help it.]

What would you even talk about with her?

Stuff I never thought I would. Like the sort of guys we like, or... the interesting people we've met. Fashion. What we should paint our nails. Where we should go shopping, the sorts of sweet things we can pick up the next time we're out... It's like a whole different world.

[ one even more normal than a normal Feather's. maybe it's simply because of how elijah had grown up, but nothing was ever so colorful as those chats with march; it was like the other girl had thrown open a pair of windows and let in not only the spring breeze but every petal the wildflowers outside had to offer.

a lovely, wonderful breath of air. she picked her name perfectly in malkuth's opinion. ]

She told me it's very important to know what I like in a person, not just personality wise but physically, too. Kinda funny to hear that it matters so much, huh?

[ when merit matters over all. ]

[This feels like a completely foreign world to him. The closest he can think of is from the talks of the children, who managed to find some innocence in the darkness of the City]

[His hand unconsciously trails up a little over her lower leg, grasping it with the bare touch of firmness, the other one remaining over her ankle to hold it steady. He's looking back at her now.]

Physically? [...] What do you like, then?

[ his hand trails a little further and her eyes slide open to look at it, cheeks warming and heart fumbling. being aware of his movements is something that's been a trend today and this is no different; he may not realize it himself, but it doesn't matter. she does. it feels a little dangerous. ]

Striking eyes, [ after a moment seemingly for thought, lifting hers to his, ] and tall. A charming smile and pleasant voice. I have to like the way they say my name.

[ since she'd like them to call out to her, but that's rather sad to say. trying not to think of ways to get his hand to move more right now but it's kind of. it's sorta. he better not do it again, is the feeling, and also the opposite is true. ]

Rougher hands are nice too. But I think I've made that pretty obvious.

[Striking eyes, she says. And tall. But really, the last few...he couldn't say he fits the mark.]

[Would he want to?]

[Fumbling, fumbling. Even so, his gaze stays steady. His hands stay where they are, for now. Polite. Is he too polite?]

...Mm. [And then a light smirk, making his lower eyelids crease up a little over the red shine.] Guess I'm out for the count, then, for making a full checklist.

Oh, I don't think so at all.

[ she taps the corner of her mouth, a little smile herself. ]

I like this. And I like the way you say my name a lot, too. [ ... ] Both of them.

[ malkuth, miss weiss. it's subjective, but sincere. sorry to the girlies in the hot springs who don't see it. like literally don't. ]

[...Well.]

[(also you go malkuth you sing the praises of this old man)]

...

[He squeezes her calf, briefly, his gaze no breaking.]

Miss Weiss.

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