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

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.

[ so rare is it that malkuth turns her gaze from him, but she is now. slowly, her whole face to the side, pink smattering her neck and cheeks, head light with the rush of blood. ]

... My ankle feels fine now.

[ why does her voice come out so. weak. she needs a drink or three. that'll cure her. ]

.....

[He almost seems to realize himself, his hands retracting, because....]

[He doesn't know why.]

[Maybe he toed a line? Ugh. What is he? Some schoolboy? He's raising his hand to comb back through his hair, feeling agitated, restless, and....flummoxed, maybe that's the word. Ughhh.]

Alright.

[ she immediately regrets it.

the spots his hands were in are colder now, and even tucking one leg under the other doesn't cure it. her ankle can live with the pain still lingering; it'll be fine before tonight, it always was going to be fine, she just...

... wanted to keep his hands on her, somehow, and the realization causes her to worry the blanket again. twist, twist, twist. she clears her throat. ]

Thanks. You should change your job to masseur. I bet you'd have a line out the door... Mr. Gaze.

[ does he like her voice, she wonders. when she says his name, either of them. it should be easy to ask, to tease. but it isn't. ]

[He immediately regrets it.]

[That's the trouble with everything. Once you get a taste for something, you start to crave. It eats you from the inside, that friendly worm.]

[There's something...there's something....something hot and burning and needy and lonely and he wants to squash it he wants to destroy it he wants to give it life and-]

[She says his name so formally, and it makes it all the worse.]

Ergh. [A bit of a groan, a bit of a glance back, almost shy.] Even if I would...would you be first in line, then?

Every day.

[ a promise, easily thrown his way. ]

As long as you opened... after my classes ended.

[ since he's no morning person anyway, from her estimation. not like her. a moment together between her civilian life and her new duty, lip twitching into a mischievous smile at the thought. ]

But that's cutting out most of my daily business. How selfish you are.

[The light remark in return drops out easily. He wonders how it can, in the midst of such strange turmoil.]

[The easiest and hardest thing in the world.]

[ she giggles at that, turning back to look at him. ]

I'll swing by in the morning, then. We can walk together... or I can get a private session in your room instead.

[ ...

which feels... dangerous... but it's lightly said as anything else, even if she's a little curious to his response. ]

Ah...

[ah]

[uh]

[not trying to go there, tripping there instead, getting his bEARINGS hold ON PRIVATE SESSION?????]

[clearing his throat]

That's....bold of you, Malkuth.

I've been called a forward girl.

[ by... a couple people...

...

for friendship reasons... ]

But I don't see what's so bold about it, since you're a professional at whatever job you're put to. Aren't you?

[ nevermind that the thought of his hands anywhere more on her bare skin gives her goosebumps in a good way. she knows why it's bold... at least with that word choice. ]

[See, this is where those predator comparisons come back into play. She's so nice and sweet and now he feels like he's walking on the edge to an antlion's pit.]

[She really couldn't mean that, this is playful, but he's thinking about his hand on her leg from earlier, the way he squeezed it and the way he said her other name and the way she turned red.]

[He swallows.]

[And of course, he'll be professional.]

[(Wings, he needs to be actually drunk for this.)]

If you...need me to be. Yes.

[A safe answer. A nice answer. He's looking down at the antlion's pincers. This is not going to go anywhere, really. That's all.]

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

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