fried: (eight)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ his lips purse, at this. ]

You have never, in the time I have known you, had an ego. You are capable of exactly what you say you're capable of. I don't believe that this was anything that you predicted would happen. In fact, to me, it sounds like jealousy.

[ first of all. it's fine that he doesn't hold his hand back - he doesn't expect him to, because that'd be like reaching to grab out for someone to save him from falling, and he can't do that, because the fear of nobody reaching back is far more painful than hitting the ground. he understands it, now. but he is reaching. as much as the sludge allows him to lift his hand, he is trying. his tail flicks in therion's lap. ]

I only spoke with him for a few moments, and I could tell his confidence is not earned. He is all posture.

[ jiaoqiu said darius has a small dick ]

... Is he going to come after you?
fried: (forty-seven)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ sometimes you gotta tell a little lie in order to counteract someone's self esteem.

the laugh eases something in jiaoqiu's lungs. he breathes out slow, and presses his shoulder against therion's. keeps holding his hand, staring across the way at the wall. the whole place rumbles, as another train passes by, and his expression gets pinched because his poor ears are sensitive and it's loud. but again, he doesn't complain. ]


Is there anything I can do to convince you to stay at my apartment with me until he leaves town?

[ kind of... resigned. like he thinks therion is going to say no. ]
fried: (twelve)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ ... ]

Well, then - shall I stay here?

[ he won't trap therion, but he doesn't want to leave him alone, either. ]
fried: (three)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
I've stayed in worse.

[ mildly. like, look, this has four walls. that's pretty good. ]
fried: (twenty-two)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
[


okay listen his nose gets wrinkly at the sound, but the second it's done: ]


I will get used to it.
fried: twt: xxltty (twenty-five)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
I know it is.

[ but it doesn't have to be, is obvious in his four words.

he knows it's not fair and not right to trap a wild and free animal in a cage. therion would be unhappy to be stuck in one place forever, stagnant and rotting. but he supposes that he isn't even really thinking past today. it's hard to do that. the future is not a real thing to him, half the time. it's only because therion is here next to him, holding his hand, that he can even hear the train rattling past them.

he tilts his head back, looking up at the ceiling. therion has calmed down, and it puts him at ease, too. it makes him want to find them a kitchen, find them a meal, a blanket, a pillow and a warm place. to nap. ease down into the void together. sometimes, he thinks that he's a little more like moss than a person, growing slowly along the bark of something and threatening to rot the both of them.

he shakes his head a bit. feels therion's hand finally gripping back. breathes in, and then out. ]


I don't want you to be alone.

[ whatever it is, wherever they end up, that's unfathomable to him. the future is his nebulous work schedule. there isn't really anything else. but he is certain of this much. ]
fried: (fourteen)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 03:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ i'm fine by myself kind of... hurts? not as much as it could, because jiaoqiu does know that therion is trying to slam down the stone wall as much as he can out of instinct, that he's protecting himself. it makes sense, especially in the light of what he just told him. darius did some serious damage, and jiaoqiu doesn't exactly take it personally.

still. maybe it's just that he wonders, sometimes. jiaoqiu's world is less covered in fog, when therion is around. if it's the same both ways, or if it's more one-sided than that. he thinks it isn't. he's pretty sure therion cares in return, and just can't bring himself to say so, but phrases like that always make that uncertainty in his mind rise up. it doesn't really matter either way, he supposes, because he's happy to be used, genuinely happy to have some sort of purpose. if he can be a healing stepping stone for therion trusting people again, that might be nice. something to live for.

(it's stupid to think that therion would be so hurt by darius and then turn around and use someone in the same way, but his brain doesn't go in that direction - his lack of self worth doesn't quite get him there.)

he doesn't let go of therion's hand. he strokes the side of it it with his thumb. he's patient, letting therion work through whatever he's working through. doesn't wince, when the train comes through, though his ears do press down against his skull again.

the uncertainty lingers, but therion asks him if he has vacation days in a sort of joking way, and jiaoqiu glances at him with a little smile. ]


An alarming amount, yes. Or so says Sushang.

[ he is holding out his wounded paw for jiaoqiu to take, to bandage. he sees it. and instead of shying away, like before, he leans into it. ]

I can take a few days. I suppose it is my turn to do something new.
fried: (twenty-nine)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[ how much pain it might save jiaoqiu in the future is a very funny phrase, considering therion knows that jiaoqiu annually goes to sit in a graveyard all day and disassociate. he does really well with people cutting and running. definitely does not torture himself for years afterwards because of someone leaving.

anyway, he tilts his head a bit. ]


I don't have a preference. Though it may feel a bit more like a vacation if we went somewhere else.

[ we, he says. us. he knows that's scary, but he needs it for himself. he needs to do something to reassure himself that this means something. he's casual, though. he understands how vulnerable this is, but he's going to treat it like it's something normal, because he imagines that therion would hate kid-gloves. jiaoqiu would too. his brain is broken, he's not five. ]

What do you want?
fried: (thirty-two)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ it's okay jiaoqiu is also a fucking moron so they were made for each other

he watches therion scrunch down into his scarf with a slightly amused look, but waits. and when therion hands him the phone, he... raises his eyebrows. oh! okay. well. ]


I'm not sure how much money you think I make.

[ he says, bemused. ]
fried: (fifty-two)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[ IT TAKES

A MINUTE ]


... You're saying you can afford this. [ looks at the apartment. looks at therion. ]
fried: twt: utsuyeet (thirty-five)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 05:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[ a beat. ]

... This one, then.

[ points to one of the hotels. it's a fancy one, but the defining feature is that it's within walking distance of a restaurant that sells incredibly spicy hot pot. he's nothing if not predictable. ]

I'd prefer not to break any laws while we're there. As a note.

[ dryly. it's not a necessity, but like. y'know. ]
fried: (forty-eight)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ it's a start!! and it's a relief, too, to see him acting more like himself. jiaoqiu's tail flicks in his lap a bit, pleased.

he is also still holding therion's hand. he'll be doing that until therion dislodges him, honestly. with his free hand, he pulls his own phone out, intending to send a message to his supervisor. he should really give more notice than this, but whatever, he's the only one willing to work these hours and it's not like hanya can't handle his job. she just doesn't like to.

a hum. ]


Are we to stay here for the night, or go straight there?
fried: (twenty-nine)

[personal profile] fried 2024-10-17 05:58 pm (UTC)(link)
If I were worried about fleas, I wouldn't have let you into my bed the first time.

[ be nice

he squeezes therion's hand, but doesn't call any attention to it otherwise. he's fine right here, therion doesn't have to worry. ]


I will insist on finding food, however. Both of us need to eat.

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