synflux | ( CLOSED ) NOVEMBER & DECEMBER CATCH-ALL.

top-level. 👍

( the light is as dim as ever in their dinky little office, izou plugging away half-heartedly on a report he's been ignoring.

one screen for text. a second screen displaying a video feed of somewhere else in the city—a stream, as it were. why the hell he's even going along with that request to jot down the results of the experimental trials is beyond him, but he's jotted down a couple things. mostly that he's felt dizzy on the occasion, withholding necessary information that makes him sound weak, like "on the verge of passing out once or twice".

surprisingly, there's been a bit of tidying up, boxes shifted around and a steel table and chairs brought in to serve as a make-shift meeting place. whether izou did that entirely on his own is up in the air.

it's late, and almost lonely, nights like these. izou much prefers being out in the field with someone, not that he'll ever admit it, fingers drumming along his cheek impatiently. )

[ Out of sight doesn't mean out of mind. Despite the impromptu vacation and all the work he's buried himself in since his return, there were still loose ends waiting to be dealt with, only ignorable for as long as you didn't have to engage with them. At some point, he has wondered…

—if it would've been better for their paths to have diverged into parallel lines, never meant to intersect again. But it’s already too late for that. It's been too late for a while. So when the cold realisation hits him that he won't be alone, causing him to freeze at the door for the split second—he swallows the rising dread, forcing himself to push through the door and step inside. ]

…

I'll just be a moment.

[ It doesn’t seem like that was his original intention, though. Judging by the snacks and drinks piled in bags, along with the pillow tucked under his arm, it's not hard to fathom a guess that he'd planned on staying the night. ]

( izou, meanwhile, offers no reassurance. he's strong, but not strong enough to keep his visible features from tensing up as he glances over who decided to show themselves, digits pausing in their incessant tapping.

to no one's surprise, his acknowledgement turns sour very quickly. there's a jerk of his head, a click of his tongue as he eases back into the worn leather of the cheap office chair, report all but forgotten... again... sort of.

sort of, because he doesn't bother flicking a finger to tab out. )

Sure you don't want me to pack up and leave?

( there's some bite in that, but it's a cautious irritation. almost like he expects to be told off. )

[ Calmly, quietly, he sets his belongings down on the table with a thunk.

After all the conversations he's had to have between their last encounter and now, he exhales deeply and sinks into his chair, trying to radiate an air of total chill.

Except, of course, the chair has other plans. With the state it's in, the armrest promptly breaks off, crashing to the floor with its own loud thud, as if demanding attention in its own right.

…… Moving onnnnn… ]

I'm not the guy who left the other guy on read… but yeah, I guess I am the guy who pulled a blade on him. Look, I'm not here to make excuses, but are we really going to let things stay this awkward forever, or what?

( damn, man. they barely have working furniture in here as is.

anyway. he did do that. end their last conversation promptly, placing it aside, similar to how one might find a box tucked away in a corner. )

What. You want me to get soft, come clean about why I'm still peeved? Apologize?

( this is already a mess, izou thinks, but he can't stop the glare in his eye, or the way elysium making himself look open annoys him all the more.

the room is full of new shadow, where the neon glow from the digital display he'd been working on plays across his gritted teeth. )

If me havin' this condition was gonna freak you out so much, you shoulda said something to start with. Or even before that, when you were actin' like you bothered so we would work together. Actin' like you...

( cared, even, a familiar anger that he hasn't felt in a long time coiling in his chest. )

[ 'Already a mess,' as if it hadn't been since day one. But if there's one thing he can appreciate, it's how Izou's raw anger continues to act as a grounding anchor, arms folding across his chest to grip tightly onto his sleeves. ]

Is leveling with each other considered soft now?

[ Like it was ever Izou's fault to begin with, is what he wants to say, but he has a feeling that wouldn't go quite so well, either. ]

Before I get into everything else, 'acting like I bothered,' huh? How far back does this go? From the very beginning? You really think I wanted to be your friend just to use you? Don't get ahead of yourself, man. I'll own everything from Transylvania onward, but don't act like the rest of it was some premeditated scheme.

( he's reaching in his upset. even izou knows that.

but it doesn't matter, because it's impossible to miss the way he doesn't cool or give an inch, a fist coming down on the desk for his own satisfaction. )

It ain't like I can read your mind, or anyone else's for that matter. I'm gonna assume stuff based on what I'm given if you don't say it outright. What do I really know 'bout you, anyhow, other than you're dead weight in a fight and wherever you're from is dreary as hell?

( getting worked up always makes things worse for him, but it's easier to press down on this feeling than to look wholly vulnerable.

there's a scent of something strange from elysium again, like it wants to distract him again after so long, but izou tosses that aside to focus on his argument. )

And there's nothin' I hate more than thinkin' someone's hiding shit from me just to take advantage. You show up when I'm at my worst to be all upliftin' and crap, but when I show up for you... even with this tainted body 'a mine right now, it's like I'm not wanted. Like you were just bein' "nice" for my own good or whatever.

Right. You visited because you were worried. You care about the people close to you and would give them the world if you could. You're a straightforward guy, and I played to that side of you, I'm not going to make any excuses for that. But what do I know about you, Izou? Aside from striking me as the type of reckless guy who, without anything to anchor you, would throw yourself into overcompensating for things that were never even your fault, Ishmael just happened to be the perfect distraction.

[ Perhaps in focusing too intently on the possibility of Wriothesley's death, he overlooked the other variables that deserved more careful consideration. His hands flex beneath the table, but they soon relax. Rising to his feet, his fingers trail lightly across the dust-covered surface as he moves toward Izou. ]

Alright. I'll give you the full scoop: I stabbed Siffrin that day for trying to drink my blood. [ Splaying a hand on the table in front of Izou, he leans his body forward. ] "I can't even meet you head-on about [my] own shit." Right again, my friend. Someone who drifts from place to place without ever putting down roots wouldn't understand a thing about reciprocation. Even kids know that if you can't take care of something, you should at least leave it as good as you found it—or better.

[ Then, his other hand moves to lift his sleeve, revealing crystals that form a near-perfect cuff around his wrist, twinkling under dim light. ]

… I'll tell you who's really tainted, here. And it's not the person who has a real chance of getting cured by the end of the year. You've already faced death once in your first life; there's no need to live this second one with a metaphorical bomb strapped to your back. Literally.

( CLOSED ) NOVEMBER & DECEMBER CATCH-ALL.

november.

crime plot catch-all.

elysium, 11/18-ish.

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