synflux | OPEN / CLOSED

[ A pout purses her lips the moment he gives that order. Her hands tighten their grip on both the bottle and her wine glass, and she tears her attention away from the stage to instead fix him with a betrayed look. ]

Hmmm? Why not? Ish'mine.

_{[ If Toji was someone to get drunk, he would have definitely joined her in drinking and honestly slack off on the job, but since he can’t, he has no choice but to try and act responsible; like he actually wants to do this job that sounds like it’s not going to have any extra benefits or pay from.

His voice lowers as the auction starts. ]}

How are you going to work feeling like that, huh?

_{[ wow, Toji acting like he gives a damn about work. ]}

[ Yor pouts at him and grumbles under her breath. She's already formulating a plan on how to cause a distraction despite her increasingly inebriated state. As the auction continues on, her eyes dart around to take in the exits, the people she recognizes from base, and the security staff who are clearly packing weapons more dangerous than tasers in their coats. ]

You don' know me, Toguro. Dunno what I can do.

[ And, well, there she goes. Just chugging the rest of that bottle before he can stop her. She slams the empty bottle on the table and fights back a hiccup. ]

Yer alwaysh tryin' to pick a fight with me now. 'N' I apologized!

Yeah?

_{[ Toji's eyes wander to the bottle that she just chugged and he can't help but wonder what on Earth happened with this woman to make her such a hot mess.

It's kind of refreshing. ]}

I'm not. You're just being ridiculous. Listen to yourself. You can't even talk straight. If you are so confident in yourself, prove it.

_{[ He moves in towards her, almost about a breath away. There's a small smile on his face, but he mostly looks exasperated. ]}

Show me what you can do, Thorn Princess.

[ Hurp.

Close. Too close. He's much, much, much, much too close. And big. Like some kind of bear in human form. Or a tiger. Definitely a tiger with his overall musculature.

Were his eyes always so green? She never noticed. And that scar there...how did he get that? It must've hurt so much to be so deep even now. ]

[ UGH, nothing about how he looks should be distracting right now! He's challenging her! Clearly!!

Is that why he's been so harsh? It can't just be because of her using her strength on him. She's already apologized for that! Unless he's just that into keeping grudges. This must be for the mission, then. He doubts her, wants to see her skills in action, and who is she to just fold over?

Her hand crosses that brief distance between them to lay flat against his chest. A frown sits deep on her lips as she leans in and pushes on his chest. Pushes him back further, further, leaning over him more, more, more. ]

Stay down, "Darling."

[ He wants to see what she can do? LILITH wants a disruption? Well...

They get it. ]

[ With Toji out of the way, Yor kicks the dining table up into the air. She follows it by jumping up herself and kicking it again, launching it broadside toward the stage. The table flies too quickly for security to do much other than react to the crash.

Unfortunately for them, Yor's off like a shot to follow up. She slams into the approaching security detail, taking down one with one kick, another with a stab from her needle, another with a punch to the jaw. All in fluid movements no different than reaching for a glass or brushing away a pesky fly. ]

_{[ why the fuck is this so sexy... ]}

_{[ Like.. he saw her fight the Shachimon and he's been a direct recipient of her strength, but he didn't expect to see her act so.. gracefully while being intoxicated. He stands suddenly as she acts quickly and he's unsure if he needs to intervene or --

... Okay, it looks like she has got it? But how. He almost forgets to breathe for a moment. Despite how sweet and innocent she is, he has a hard time remembering that she knows how to fight, but he doesn't know how she learned to.

It's at that moment that some more security are springing into action, and Toji is.. incredibly fast. He follows up with some punching and kicking of his own and one poor guy get his face banged into the nearest vertical surface. ]}

_{[ He takes a pause in his fighting for a moment to glance over at Yor and can tell she looks a little light headed.. like maybe she's about to faint? If that's the case, it's probably best that they head out without completing the mission, but maybe all of this diversion will give some lingering LILITH team mates the distraction they need.

With a quick step, he basically vanishes from his speed, enough to catch Yor in his arms before she hits anything. ]}

[ The Shachimon made her question her suitability for fighting the kaiju. Briefly. Before she became more comfortable with other weapons. Now that she's got her needles in hand, though, she's so much more at home. This is how she's meant to fight, isn't it? Dodging blow after blow with ease, piercing a vital for a quick and painless demise before her opponent knows what hit them, using a guard as a shield until another's out of bullets and has no defense against a jab to the neck; she doesn't even have to think to pull any of it off.

It's just cleaning up the filth. Scrubbing away the scum. No different than usual.

Unfortunately for Yor, her consciousness is already waning by the time she dispatches what she's certain is maybe the twelfth or thirteenth guard to come at her. The fog of alcohol doesn't make her strikes any less precise, but she's teetering after one too many a kick.

Teetering, wavering, falling-

She makes another "hurp" of a groan as Toji catches her. Her stomach does a hell of a flip from the sudden vertigo, and stars dot her vision as her head swims. ]

Tojuro?

Toji! It’s Toji! Oi!

_{[ Whether she’s prepared for it or not, Toji dips down and picks her up in his arms. He looks.. really angry about all of this.. and he probably is. However, deep down, he’s kind of glad this is an excuse to evacuate.

He should just leave her here. He shouldn’t care. He never does. But during the tsunami here, he was also quick to act and save Megumi who also was unconscious. Toji is realizing, in this moment, that he wants to protect Yor. He wants to protect both Yor and Megumi but the feeling is so strange, Toji hates it. ]}

We are leaving. You’re too much.

_{[ Toji doesn’t specify what he means by that as he makes a dash for the nearest exit. Something about being distracted by all of this is making his high senses fuller than usual and he doesn’t notice another enemy coming after them both near the exit. They have a pistol of some kind.

If Yor is unconscious by the time this happens, Toji is just going to have to take them out one handed. ]}

[ Toji. Toji? OH, right, Toji! Or Mr. Fushiguro. No, he prefers Toji. He said so himself. He got so mad...hm. He still seems mad, actually. ]

'm shleepy, Tozhi.

[ Wait, is that footsteps? Someone's behind them. Yor leans up in his arms to look over his shoulder and catches sight of the guard closing in. ]

Hold theshe pleashe. [ "These" being her needles, which she doesn't even give him? She's still holding them while basically hugging him as she chucks an extra fork she was carrying at their pursuer. ]

Will you stop fighting just for one moment?!

_{[ But like.. bullseye? Literally. Like right in the eye. How did she manage to do all of this? Yor is full of all sorts of surprises, Toji is realizing. This woman is unpredictable and her innocent demeanor is something he shouldn't take for granted.

With speed steps, they exit the building and Toji does a few hops and jumps to get them on a rooftop. Once he's a safe distance from the auction, he slows his speed and checks in with her. ]}

What's the matter with you, huh?

[ Wow Toji, is that how you thank someone for protecting you from potentially getting shot in your perfectly sculpted ass? So ungrateful, good god.

Unfortunately, all that bouncing and zipping around does little to actually help her intoxicated state. By the time they come to a stop, she's leaning far more limply on him and groaning as her stomach tries to stay in one spot.

What is the matter with her? She hasn't gotten this riled up while drunk in a while. What had she and Loid been talking about at the time? Something about a woman... ]

'm shorry. My head'sh'pinning.

_{[ Something about hearing a woman talk about this is unlocking some core memory within his head..

He remembers hearing her complain early in the morning about her head spinning and promptly soon after.. going to the bathroom to throw up. That's part of pregnancy. Fortunately, his first wife didn't have long hair, but he stayed by her side if she needed anything.

Suddenly, Toji stops and tries to settle Yor on her feet. Without even thinking, he's tugging the long locks of her hair behind her shoulders and out of the way. ]}

Don't you puke on me.

_{[ they're on a rooftop to a large building... puke here if you're gonna puke, Yor!! Don't puke off the side of the building, though! ]}

[ Once she's on her feet, she does seem a bit more stable. Barely. She still sways some, and on reflex her hand goes out to hold onto his coat. Thankfully she's not at the level where she'll definitely hork it just yet, but that could change at any second. ]

'n not gonna!!

[ She turns her face away from him anyway, almost pouting even while showing him the courtesy of making sure he's not in the projectile pathway. ]

_{[ Now here is a perfect moment. He could slip his arm around her to steady her and whisper some sweet nothings into her ear, but Toji is finding it incredibly hard to be forward with her. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint why, but maybe it has to do with the fact that he doesn’t want to mess up anything involving them further.

What would it matter, though? He already agreed that they shouldn’t talk anymore.

His jaw grows tight but he reaches out and holds her hand instead so she has something better to hold on to. ]}

… It’s fine if you do. You might even feel better.

_{[ where the fuck is all of this gentleman behavior coming from? ]}

[ Huh. His hands are big. Hers seems so small and doll-like in his. It's not the first time he's touched her hands or lingered so close, but she didn't really notice it when they met. She was too panicked by being touched at all and so suddenly.

Hmm, her stomach feels weird again. Different than being sick, but the lightheadedness is just as all-consuming. ]

You're sho nice, Toji. [ A heavy sighs racks her shoulders, and she reflexively grips his hand back and tighter. ] 'm shorry I messed up again. 'n made you mad.

_{[ Yeah, um. They’re just holding hands. No big deal. He’s held a lot of women’s hands. It’s different this time, though, because he doesn’t have any intention of taking her back to his room and fucking her. Toji doesn’t want to do that.. he wants to.. go easy.

At the same time, he gets reminded that she seems really upset when he talks to her. He’s too harsh for her. ]}

Will you stop saying that? — Look.

_{[ They’re near the fire escape stairs but Toji stops, turning to face her. ]}

See how upset you are? It’s ‘cause of me. That’s why I’m not nice and that’s why I’m no good for you to talk to.

_{[ If there’s any wetness in her eyes, his other hand will lift up and dab at that. ]}

There’s better people you can talk to that don’t make you upset. Okay?

[ Better people? No good to talk to? That certainly seems true now, but the sudden tenderness out of him takes her aback yet again. He says he's awful yet does things like this? Holds her hand, makes sure she's safe, keeps her from falling over...

Before his hand dips away from her face, her own comes up to grasp it. She doesn't fling it away or squeeze it too harshly. If anything, she holds onto both his hands with a grip as light as a feather. As if his massive hands are more delicate than Faberge eggs in her fingers. ]

Then why're you bein' thishway now? Is it cuz I'mma stupid "gorilla?" Always hurtin' you or breakin' thingsh?

[ Her voice drops lower as she sniffles, determined not to let another tear escape. Maybe if she tries to be mad, she can avoid looking so...but it's hard to actually be mad when she just doesn't understand. ]

Were you laughin' at me th'entire time? ...like everybody else.

_{[ Toji is, yet again, thrown off by how she holds his hands. He can’t remember the last time someone held his hand like this with utmost sincerity, even if Yor is inebriated right now, he knows there’s some odd gentleness to how she holds him. He can’t remember because he has chosen to forget; forget how his first wife would be kind to him because it hurt so much to think of her being gone.

Was he really okay to try something like that again? To be with someone who cares about him? He doesn’t want to think about how he would become so much more bitter if he allowed it to happen again only to lose that person. Right now, that person in question is Yor.

Finally, Toji can feel his cheeks tinge with some color. He’s done so many shameful things in bed and hasn’t gotten shy at all, but when it comes to allowing himself to be taken care of… he can’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

He hates this.

But mostly, he hates how Yor thinks so negatively of herself. She’s talking quietly now but his sensitive ears catch everything she says. ]}

That’s not it.

_{[ Toji sucks in a breath and holds it before breaking away, but still holding one of her hands as he leads her down the fire escape. The LILITH base is just across the street. ]}

We aren’t having this conversation right now.

[ Part of her wants to protest and ask why he can't just answer her. But that'd just make him more mad, wouldn't it? Not to mention even taking a few steps has her wobbly again, even with him to steady her. Arguing just isn't worth it. ]

Nn'kay.

[ Luckily for both of them, she's so accustomed to wearing heels that the fire escape doesn't trip her up. It's only her cotton-muffled mind that's skewing her footsteps, leading her to walk on her toes just to have better control of her feet. Her grip on his hand doesn't waver as they go. Instead she seems to cling to it tighter like a child. ]

_{[ Toji is beginning to realize in this silence that he is quite taken with Yor, but that happened rather fast, didn’t it? That’s how he knows; when he starts acting like this and it didn’t take much time for it to happen. There’s a lot they should probably talk about, but right now isn’t the best time for it.

That, and the fact Toji hates talking.

Before he knows it, they have crossed the street and used their identification to return back to the LILITH base; Toji is walking to the Brimstone wing, and before Yor can even question it (maybe she doesn’t even realize it) he explains himself. ]}

You’re coming to my room so I can watch you.

[ It's probably her, but his gait is hard to keep up with. He's too tall, his legs too long, and she's much, much too inebriated to keep her feet going in a straight line. She tries, bless her, but she does grip onto his sleeve with her free hand to have a better sense of balance. Even if all she's really doing is just leaning on him much more than she should be.

Wait wait wait wait, what?

His room? Her? Alone? Nevermind that they spent such time in close quarters before at the hostel, though just for a massage. This is much more personal, right? ]

B-But... [ Ah, nope. Arguing probably isn't going to be her strong suit right now. He's just going to keep an eye on her, after all. It's clear in his voice. The no nonsense way he talks. His hold is too secure for her to pull out of without hurting him too, she's certain. And hands have such tiny, numerous bones...oh, he'd be hurting bad. So, she sullenly agrees with a sloshy: ] I'll clean up any sick if I...do that. Promise.

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