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AZOTH
‘Cause these words are knives that often leave scars The fear of falling apart |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Orion Alim-Verdi on Nov 25, 2017 21:55:06 GMT -8
Luke Skywalker Indigo was not ready for the text he would receive at just after midnight. He was not ready to walk downstairs and find a battered and bruised Orion Antony Abraham Alim-Verdi standing there grinning weakly with one bloody bandaged arm held up. He was not ready to unwrap those bandages and find two elegant cuts waiting for him. He was not ready for how much they would bleed right from the get go. He was not ready for the nearly half hour it would take to effectively clean, clear, seal, and stitch the knife wounds closed. No, Luke was not ready for any of this.
What he was ready for, however, was the frustrated arguments they would have after it was all fixed up. “Are you fucking kidding me, Orion?” Luke hissed ripping the gloves from his hands and turning on the lab sink. “What in hell possessed you to go to a fight club let alone one with rules that allow weapons?” Even over the sound of the hot water, Luke’s voice was sharp.
Orion grimaced standing there feeling over the bandage that now supported his new stitched. He knew better than to pick at it but had to do something with it since it was uncomfortable on his skin. “I already told you, I needed the money.”
“You’re the one who told me to go to Marceline Labele,” Luke snapped back drying hi hands. “You could have asked her for an advancement on your pay if you needed it that badly!”
Orion shook his head. “It’s entirely too much… The fights offered more so long as I bet on myself…” Yellow eyes flickered to the bag he’d brought in with him. In the glaring white light of the ab, it looked engorged, struggling to keep closed.
Luke’s ‘eyes’ shifted over to it, and a sharp ‘tch’ sound escaped from him. He wouldn’t ask how much was in there. He didn’t want to know. A thought occurred to him, and he straightened some, turning around and folding his arms “It’s drug money isn’t it?” he growled low in his throat. “What the hell are you on?”
“That is not it,” Orion snapped back. “I’m not on anything. I haven’t been on anything—“
“Then why did you need that much money and couldn’t ask Ma—“
“I’m buying a house with Nik.” Silence dropped like a bomb. A gold eye and a foreign eye stared hard at Orion’s yellow ones. The muscles in Luke’s arms physically flexed, and the locks of hair on either side of his face rose some of their own accord. Color only came to Luke’s face as an afterthought. Orion fidgeted and glanced sideways, focusing in on a piece of lab equipment instead. “I am…” he muttered folding his arm in front of himself (and immediately regretting it for as much pain as it caused him).
“You selfish prick,” Luke barked causing Orion to fidget and look back again. Luke’s teeth were grit, his eyes bright and angry. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Orion balked, but Luke wouldn’t give him time for a rebuttal. “How dare you abandon Jazz. How dare you force me into this awkward situation with him! How dare you make those kinds of decisions without thinking about us!”
Orion’s features blanched. His lips parted, but no words came out. His thoughts spiraled and stewed struggling for some kind of response. Finally, his lips quirked up some, and he shook his head. “You’re the one who kissed Jazz,” he stated, straightening up some. “You’re the one who made it awkward for him…” The color in Orion’s features shot higher matching Luke’s.
“ You weren’t there!” Luke cut in, the tendrils of his hair aflame. “You don’t get what Nihilego do-“
“I don’t have to fucking get it! What the fuck were you thinking?” Orion challenged. “You’re a damn adult! You’re the one who made it ‘awkward’.”
“Nihilego increases desire,” Luke snarled. “It’s a neurotoxin effect.”
“I still don’t remember you wanting to shack up with Jazz!” Orion barked.
“What the fuck Orion?! That’s not—“
“You really messed him up!”
“I didn’t—“
“You did!”
There was a moment of cold tension. Luke was shaking slightly. Orion stood there grimacing. Finally, Luke looked away. “This isn’t about me… This is… this is about you, Orion!” he stated thrusting a finger forward. “This is about you forgetting who you have to take care of! You’re abandoning him just like you did when he was a kid! He had no one else Orion!” Luke’s voice shook, on the edge of breaking.
“Hell yeah I fucked up! Hell yeah I did abandon him! Him and my mom and my dad and my cousins and AUNTIE and everyone! I fucked up! I know! I’m a shitty, disgusting, useless piece of shit but Arceus damn it if I am not trying do something that—“
“Something that benefits you!” Luke squeaked. Orion shut up for a second or two. “You’re doing something that benefits you, yourself, before anyone else. You’re throwing …Jazz and me away so you can place house with some old boyfriend. You’ve been with him what, three months? If that?”
Orion’s breath shook. He blinked hard, his thoughts squirming in his head. “I’m not abandoning Jazz,” he finally asserted. “The house has plenty of space, and he can live there if he wants. He can— You’re the one who is fucking this up Luke! How hard is it to be nice to someone who likes you? How hard is it to try and not tease and torment them?!”
Luke bristled. “I don’t like being around people! I don’t want to be in this kind of position! Jazz is not my responsibility. You are the one who took him with him. I’m not fucking up anything!”
“You’re in fucking denial! Admit you’re fucking wrong!”
“You’re the one who went and nearly lost his life in a fighting ring!”
“I did not! What I had were cuts at best! I was careful!”
“You’re an idiot, Orion!”
It would be this that had Orion stopping short. Whatever he might have said, whatever he might have done. For a moment, he stopped. For a moment, he understood. For a moment, he just wanted to go home and deal with this the next morning, when they were both relaxed, refreshed, and rested. Grabbing the bag down from the floor, he turned and started walking.
“Where are you going?” Luke’s voice rang out, but Orion kept walking. “Orion? Orion don’t walk away from me!” Orion expected Luke would soon fall silent, would go back to his quiet research, whatever he had been doing. What he didn’t expect was that Luke would follow him.
“Orion? Orion are you listening?” Luke was always only a step or two behind. Orion walked a little faster, but despite his much longer legs, he couldn’t put much distance between the two of them. With Nilly at his side, Luke was just a bit faster. They’d walk like that all the way up to Orion’s apartment door. “Orion, damn it,” Luke’s hand seized Orion’s wrist as he shoved the keys in the door. Orion winced, and Luke immediately felt guilty. With a hard shove, however, Orion forced himself in the door.
“Good night Luke,” Orion growled trying to push the door shut.
“Orion we are not done!” Luke snarled leaning all his weight and hidden force into the door. With Nilly’s help and Orion’s damaged arm, it was easier to keep the door open. “Orion! Orion get off this door! Now! I’m not going until you fucking—“ Orion slipped. The door went crashing inwards, and Luke fell flat face onto the floor. "What the fuck Orion?!"
Nikolai Laska Jazz Johnson
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Nov 25, 2017 22:43:33 GMT -8
.... What had he been dreaming about? What time was it? Why was he awake, or was he even awake? That was kind of questionable, as Nik found himself vaguely aware but in a thick haze. He felt like he'd been jolted by something, but as he lay in bed he couldn't seem to...
Finally, his brain registered the sound of yelling in the other room. S-someone... yelling at Orion?? Wha-- Who--!? Nik found it hard to open his eyes more than a brief crack at a time and his head was suddenly pounding, but he pushed himself upright anyway and staggered toward-- He fell into the door and caught himself with one arm against the wall as he grabbed the handle only to recall he went to bed naked and muttering a small 'dammit all' to himself.
Groaning, he found where he'd tossed his boxers and quickly pulled them on before stumbling out the door, only new finally starting to resemble something fully conscious but still running at maybe 80%. By the time he got out, they'd probably have gone through a bit more back-and-forth, but he didn't really register anything being said as he was too busy demanding, "What the hell is going on here??"
Only after would he start taking in some details. So it was Luke here. And-- what the hell was up with that eye!?? Wh--why was Orion bandaged up and why did he look like hell? What the fuck.
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AZOTH
‘Cause these words are knives that often leave scars The fear of falling apart |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Orion Alim-Verdi on Nov 25, 2017 23:01:31 GMT -8
Oblivious to Nik’s presence for the moment, both Luke and Orion were scrambling to their feet. “Go home, Luke,” Orion snarled. “I’ll call you in the—“
“Shut up Orion,” Luke’s voice was booming. “Or start apologizing! You can’t just walk away from this!”
“Well, obviously with you following me, I’m not!” Orion snarled. On any other day, one could have taken it as an attempt at humor, but with how harsh his tone was, it obviously wasn’t meant to be. “There’s nothing I’m going to apologize for when you fucking won’t apologize for the smallest things!”
This was, in fact, where Nik came in. Both jolted and glanced sideways. Luke glared, and Orion grimaced. “Stay out of this, Nik,” Orion started to shift towards him only for Luke to take the moment to ram his index finger in his chest. “Uhmph….”
“You’re the one who decided it was a good idea to go to a fight club with weapons!” The tendrils of Luke’s hair had risen again and waved about wildly. Looking sideways at Nik, he spat. “For you.”
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Nov 25, 2017 23:18:46 GMT -8
... Nik... blinked slowly. Something feral in him flared up at Luke's final words, not so much rage as a profound sense of deeply upset and unpleasant in more ambiguous ways, but it was actually taking a bit of a back seat at the moment. Luke's eye was still hard to look away from, and what... the fuck was his hair doing??
Between those things and how much time he'd dreaded Mia doing fight club shit and how much he'd fought with Orion over other reckless stuff lately, he was... actually 99% sure this was a crazy ass nightmare just kind of blending various anxieties with some body horror on Luke's end. Weird. He didn't usually realize he was dreaming so fast, and horror like that was a lot rarer than pure anxiety dreams. Maybe he'd watched some weird anime lately he couldn't recall right now or something.
Anyway... Yeah he didn't wanna deal with this and figured if he went back to bed the dream would eventually change, or maybe they'd follow him to the room but it was worth a--
As he turned, he tripped and stumbled into the wall, banging his knee. "AH-" Bending down to grab it, he hissed "Motherfuck" before realizing that was some uncharacteristically realistic pain if he was dreaming. ...Eh, now he was like... 70% still sure he was given Luke, but okay, maybe his dream was gonna force him to deal with this, or maybe Luke was suddenly magic for Reasons. Or had a lab accident involving superpowers, heh. But whatever. Fine, he'd deal.
Sighing and wincing a bit as he turned back around to face them, he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. "Babe, what is he talking about?" ... That sounded a lot calmer than he actually was. He was annoyed at this whole situation, and pissed if that really happened, and confused about several things right now, but he was just... too tired to give more than a fraction of a fuck right this second apparently.
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AZOTH
‘Cause these words are knives that often leave scars The fear of falling apart |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Orion Alim-Verdi on Nov 25, 2017 23:27:14 GMT -8
Luke’s hand had reached out as Nik turned, aiming to seize his shoulder, but as he stumbled into the wall instead, his hand retracted. “Ugh,” looking back at Orion, Luke grit his teeth. “Whatever you—“
Orion seized his wrist, must to Luke’s surprise. The prior, however, didn’t move after that. For as strong a desire as he had to throw Luke out the door, there was no way he was going to do that either. Instead, as Nik turned around and asked what he was talking about, he took in a slow, deep breath. “Sorry for waking you, babe~ I was doing some finance work and found a quick way to get knock down the price on that ho—“ Orion didn’t get to finish what he was saying. One of Luke’s hair locks had slapped the hand he’d grabbed Luke with pretty hard and forced his grip to release. "Ow-"
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Nov 25, 2017 23:36:14 GMT -8
... That just happened. His hair just... okay? Okay...
Nik could only really process one thing at a time right now, though, and frankly as weird as it was Luke's freaky hair and appearance was gonna have to wait as Luke's and Orion's claims fell into place against each other. Finance work? Knock down the price? "... Sweetie. Honey. Dear. ... For the love of the fucking maker please do not tell me you threw yourself in a fight club just to--"
Only now would he notice Orion's bag, and kind of blinked and double took at it. Half of his brain said surely that wasn't money, but the other half said the way it bulged was kind of distinctive... "How much did you even..."
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AZOTH
‘Cause these words are knives that often leave scars The fear of falling apart |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Orion Alim-Verdi on Nov 25, 2017 23:43:42 GMT -8
Orion’s lips quirked a bit as Nik spoke. Words, excuses, and every manner of reason he was about to use got thwarted the moment Nik noticed the bag— or maybe, perhaps, it got embellished. “Fifty-five grand!” he spoke suddenly shifting to seize the bag and lift it up. “Part of it the winnings, the other part from bets. It’s all there and probably some chunk change I didn’t count but—“ He was looking at Nik, begging and pleading with his eyes to get some acknowledgement for this.
Luke, meanwhile, stood there with his teeth gritting. “Are you kidding me and you made me stitch you up instead of going to a fucking hospital?!” he threw one hand up in a gesture that one could suppose was the word ‘really?’ or maybe even ‘dunce’ or anything else along those lines.
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Nov 25, 2017 23:56:22 GMT -8
Fi--fifty-five--!? Nik... The thing that was actually pissing him off most right this moment was how legitimately damn impressed he was, like?? "Holy shit??" he'd sputter right about the time Luke was snapping again.
He... found himself incredibly torn now and it made it difficult to focus on a train of thought, but for the moment he picked Luke and frowned at him. "Dude, money doesn't erase phobias, trust me." Or at least living in an actual palace sure as hell never made him any less nervous about stepping 100 yards away from it ha... "If you need payment we can definitely spare it apparently."
Ignoring whatever response Luke might spout after, he'd turn his attention to Orion though. "Babe? This is..." He rubbed his temples with both hands and sort of half-sighed half-groaned. "What.. did we just talk about like.. last week?"
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AZOTH
‘Cause these words are knives that often leave scars The fear of falling apart |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Orion Alim-Verdi on Nov 26, 2017 5:29:09 GMT -8
Luke’s teeth grit. “That is not what I mean,” he snapped back. “I’m not that kind of doctor!” He shook slightly, the tentacle hair twisting and swaying. “If it was any worse I couldn’t have done anything!”
Orion winced at Luke. Nik’s response had him grimacing. “I know, I know but this plus what I have saved up’ll cover almost twenty percent more and we could even save some of that for Christmas...” He was trying very hard not to whine and kept shooting Luke a look here and there. “I won and I’m not that injured…” he pulled at the sleeves and then the neck of his shirt then pulled up the bottom revealing nothing but bruising.
Luke just glared in response.
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Nov 26, 2017 5:55:58 GMT -8
Nik... quietly listened. And quietly sided with Luke overall, even if he wouldn't show that right now. When Orion showed off his bruises (and Arceus if they were already that visible Nik imagined there was a good chance of at least some of them being even worse by morning, eugh), he winced, but... The silence that followed had him grateful. It gave him a moment to gather his thoughts properly, and he breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly before pushing himself off the wall.
"Darling, I love you. I do." The smile he offered was forced and pained, but still did qualify as a smile. "I know how willing and eager you are to put the people you care about above yourself and as much as I often hate the results I do love that about you." This... entire situation spiraled out of Nik's decision to hurt himself rather than disappoint or betray anyone he loved, after all. He could relate to that blend of low self-worth and desire to protect and/or be useful, and he loved the part of Orion that was so devoted.
"...But Luke's right. You are fine, but what if you hadn't been? What if you aren't next time, or the next time?" His voice was starting to crack just a bit, even if it still didn't have much power behind it. "I'm... I'm too tired to yell about this but I need you to understand I'm pissed." He didn't sound it, but he hoped Orion would take his word. "You keep-- putting the man I love in danger, and once again you didn't even tell me what you were doing first." His eyes were getting pretty wet now. This was the one thing he begged for more than any other and it really was pissing him off that he couldn't seem to even make an effort about it.
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AZOTH
‘Cause these words are knives that often leave scars The fear of falling apart |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Orion Alim-Verdi on Nov 26, 2017 6:20:03 GMT -8
A weird breath escaped from Orion as Nik spoke. He didn’t.. know if he was laughing or crying or something in between but the feeling twisted in his stomach long after it should have been expelled. Why wasn’t Nik happy about this? This was for their house this was… for them.
Luke, meanwhile, piped up at Nik’s assertion. “Thank you,” he snarled. “What if you’d been stabbed anywhere near your axillary or brachial artery? You wouldn’t have even— even…..“ Made it home. Yeah. He stopped himself of his own accord. His fists shook, and he was choking back a sob that threatened to burst forth. He wanted to be mad and was glad that Nik understood what was wrong but damn it.
Orion’s gaze flicked from Nik to Luke and then back at Nik. And once again you didn’t even tell me what you were doing first… Ugh, but? But? This was… this was what he was good at. This was what he was good at. “I wasn’t in danger. I’m stronger than anyone in this damn country…” He wasn’t exactly yelling now, just forcefully speaking almost, asserting his words as best he could. “It’s not a problem it’s—“
So focused on Nik was Orion that he wouldn’t even realize Luke had shifted around to grab his arm, yanking back the long bandage that kept sutures and smaller bandage aids alike hidden. “This is not ok,” Luke insisted. Orion winced. The bandage was new, and even if he wasn’t immediately going to bleed now with the smaller stitches and bandages under, it still hurt to pull at.
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Nov 26, 2017 6:31:20 GMT -8
Nik was... going to ignore house short of breath and nauseous Luke's almost-words made him feel. It... something like that 'could' happen any time, but it didn't. It didn't this time. He was okay, he had to keep breathing. Orion was still breathing... Okay...
He frowned deeply at Orion's insistence, and then... wrinkled his nose at the bandages. ...Ugh.
"...Okay, one: it's not about how confident you are, it's that I fucking beg and plead for you to tell me things like this and you won't and I'm getting really tired of it." He could.. probably harp on that all night but he'd leave it there and move on. "Two: I am 99% sure Mia could have kicked your ass last week. And I bring that up both to point out how fucking arrogant it is to think you're literally THE strongest, and because she just lost an arm. Being strong does not mean you can't get hurt!" Oh. Oh there was a bit of energy. Only a little but he was getting worked up now. Just.. lovely.
Quieting again, he muttered as a last addition, "Three: I'm gonna have to rework your tat design and wait til that heals to do that arm now, so I hope you're happy...."
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AZOTH
‘Cause these words are knives that often leave scars The fear of falling apart |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Orion Alim-Verdi on Nov 26, 2017 7:00:27 GMT -8
Orion grimaced. Ok, ok, ok…. Ugh Mia why did you have to go and lose an arm to become the fucking epitome of this situation?…. “I just…” He glanced away, frowning hard. There was not a good excuse, and he knew that. Even the last of Nik’s additions had him wincing. Hope you’re happy— No Nik you’re supposed to be happy uuuuggghhhhhh… “Sorry… I’m sorry….”
Luke sighed loudly. The hairs on his head were starting to settle again but still flicked and waved at random. “Thank you for listening to someone about this,” he growled low. It irked him the more he thought about it, however. Orion didn’t pick apart Nik, didn’t slam him with defensive words, didn’t— Ugh. He was still mad wasn’t he? Of course he was.
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Civilian
I can't help it, I'm a babbling idiot. Please kiss me quick, 'cause I need to feel it~ |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY 🌸 SG 🌸
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Post by Nikolai Laska on Nov 26, 2017 13:21:24 GMT -8
Nik sighed heavily. He fucking better be sorry. He was glad he was sorry... But... "I need you to show me you're sorry. To please. stop. doing... this..." A weak hand gesture was made toward his whole body.
Reaching down, he'd take the bag, assuming Orion would let him. "This is amazing. It's not that it isn't" He'd go set that aside for now and take Orion's hand. "But you are so much more important. The whole point of getting a place is sharing it with you; otherwise I'd be perfectly content in another 1-room apartment." His thumb brushed over where Orion's ring should have been, but then he frowned at not finding it, eyes moving to meet Orion's questioningly.
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AZOTH
‘Cause these words are knives that often leave scars The fear of falling apart |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Orion Alim-Verdi on Nov 26, 2017 13:52:52 GMT -8
Orion exhaled. He knew, he knew the point but— This thought would be cut off when Nik’s thumb brushed his ring finger. As Nik met his eyes, he pulled his hand back, fishing back around his neck to remove a thin metal chain where the ring was suspended. Slinking it off, he rolled it back on his finger again. “I know but… but I also don’t want to put you into debt…” Oh- oh fuck. Fuck him. He wasn’t supposed to say that out loud, but here they were. Orion grimaced a little. “Not— Not for me…”
Luke had fallen silent during this exchange. His single yellow eye and wide black eye flickered from Nik to Orion and then back to Nik again. He hadn’t missed the exchange of ring, but this would be the first time he’d seen it. His chest was tightening, and his eyes were stinging. “You went and got engaged?” he suddenly accused.
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