summer catchall

[yourlenore]

Who: Mishka & some poor unfortunate souls
What: Bingo et al.
When: Summer
Where: Anywhere
Warnings: NSFW & insects

Sometimes I feel tenderly
opened up, wet and revealed as if cut
in two.

Comments

[yourlenore]

( Brandy... Solid choice. Also me handwaving all the alcohol names getting translated, because yeah, Mishka seems to be set to agree when Ryuki suggests he's used to harder drinks.

Before he can reply, Ryuki just goes at it. My. He does a little sippy. )

That nervous?

[unsync]

You could say I've developed a tolerance.

[ Looks at just how many glasses there were in canon until he was just absolutely smashed. He's stronger than most Asians, of the non-anime powered variety. ]

There used to be someone who took me out for drinks a lot.

[yourlenore]

( Mishka, elbow leaning on the table and mostly turned toward Ryuki as he drinks slow, settles on watching Ryuki attempts to outdrink some of the most ambitious alcoholics he's known in his past. )

A friend of yours?

[unsync]

[ He takes the second one slower, but its still with the ease and frequency of drinking water. ]

He... [ Friend. Can he even use that word? ] ...was my mentor.

[yourlenore]

( Hmm... )

Oh? In the police? ( He leans in on his palm a little, drink to his lips. ) What was he like?

( The odds of Adelis ending up rooming with a cop (trained by a cop?) when he was trained by an assassin, though... Not that Mishka can talk, given he's the aforementioned assassin, taking the aforementioned cop out for a drink, for licentious reasons. He does wonder if Ryuki might feel deceived in some way if he realizes, eventually.

Ah, well. )

[unsync]

[ A problem for future Ryuki, perhaps. Even now, even though he may have rationalised it, Tama can confirm she saw a spider crawl out of this guy's mouth, and the only reason she hadn't said anything is because Ryuki didn't mention it and she can't risk him getting worse by affirming something that didn't need to be affirmed. We're all stuck between a rock and a hard place aren't we? ]

He was... really nice. To me. Told me I don't need to doubt myself, that the path I believed was right was correct, even if other people disagreed; that what was most important was my own conviction.

[ ... He grips his drink, burying himself in it further. ]

[yourlenore]

( He did wonder if that past tense was a "He's still around, just back home," or a "He's not around, even at home" sort of thing, and Ryuki's reaction makes him wonder if it's the latter. )

He sounds like a sensible man.

( Oh, to be in agreement with a cop's mentor. A sip... )

... Did something happen to him?

[unsync]

.........

[ "R̸̥͖̥̓y̷̜̎͛ǘ̷͇̜̐͠k̵̢̦̓̈̐i̶̥̮̔?̴̯̥̊ ̸͖̜͋͊͊" ]

... So, what kind of stuff are you into?

[yourlenore]

( Ooooh, something interesting happened, hm? But he'll take the ball Ryuki passes him, metaphorically. Too much depression and this guy might be more of a dead fish in bed than Mishka already suspects he might be. )

Let's see... ( He swirls his glass a little. ) Is it strange to say I enjoy the maths? Number puzzles, for instance. I've found I also enjoy hiking up to the forest to collect mushrooms, and treading into the ocean - the waters are strikingly clear.

[unsync]

[ Hey....... he would feel bad if he was a dead fish. He puts out reasonably. He laughs into his glass, pretty humourlessly for how he'd been thus far. ]

That's all really cute, but it isn't what I meant. I thought you weren't out to mess with me.

[ Like, come on. You know what he really meant, right? ]

[yourlenore]

( Mishka will be very proud of him!! Anyway that was studybrain replying but you know what, we roll with this. He's a little a tipsy and he's not been so before, but he also doesn't seem it very much.

He laughs. )

Was I messing with you? ( Gaslights Ryuki... jk. He shrugs. He knows he mentioned he's been pretty busy with work for a good while, so he continues, ) Intimacy has been far from my mind for some years. The things I enjoy on the field are like to be a bit brutal if transferred to the bedroom.

( Or the clinic, as it were. In a sense he's probing the idea, mostly because he's curious, but it doesn't matter to him either way. )

[unsync]

[ Psychologists should be all over this piece of work so so can blame Mishka... Ryuki is a scrambled wonder. Three drinks in should do it, just enough to be loose lipped. ]

I can handle a bit of rough.

[ Boldly enough, as if it's almost a bit of a dare. The provoking is not too one sided, it seems. ]

[yourlenore]

Mmmm... 'A bit' of rough, is it?

( He slides just a little nearer, glass hanging from his fingertips, and his voice falls just slightly lower so the barkeep doesn't have to be privy. )

And if I pushed that a little more?

[unsync]

[ He looks at Mishka, unbudging. The logical part of his brain wants to say hold on, now, but he asked for a few drinks first for a reason. He never gets anything done if he tries to use reason. No, he needs conviction... ]

I'm used to pushing my limits, but I think... someone told me, this place is for having new experiences, too.

[yourlenore]

( The slight stretch of his smile holds for a moment, before it curves into a more familiar, playful one. )

Then you're in luck, because I very much adore trying unfamiliar things. ( Fluffs his hair again! ) Feeling adventurous enough, then? Or are you in need of another cup, still?

[unsync]

[ Hmn. Subconsciously or not, even though he may be signing up for a rough time, the softer touch to his hair is a small benediction. He leans into it ever-minutely, eyes a little hazy. ]

I'll just finish this one.

[yourlenore]

( Oho... He never gets to do this with Adelis - he'd bite off his hand. The fluffing turns into a gentle stroking, fingers tangling in his hair. )

Take your time. ( Well, he does suspect there might be that last minute blossom of clients toward the end of the day - because there always is, universally - but Mishka isn't personally worried about that, and perhaps Ryuki might be less so now, too. ) And you? Is there anything you find yourself inclined toward?

( While they sorta touched on this last time, Ryuki wasn't three drinks in last time, so, )

[unsync]

[ He's like a sad stray, is all he is. Mostly lying down on the path, tail wagging half-heartedly at any passing pet. Though maybe with a bit more specific taste, as the fingers tangle in his hair, he makes a low noise in the back of his throat. Already he's finding himself in a better mindset, like he had intended.

Inclined? He feels like he's at a good pace where he is, but if he must... He puts his own hand over Mishka's wrist, pulling it more firmly against his head. ]

You can start with this.

[yourlenore]

( So simple... Ryuki had asked him not to mess with him, but Mishka considers all of this messing with him, to an extent - Ryuki's a good guy. Mishka does as he does with indifference and curiosity because, fundamentally, he feels so little truly matters. Someone like Ryuki doesn't need someone like Mishka passing the time with him.

But life isn't fair, is it?

He pets him less idly, and with a more gentle, focused affection - very much like petting a cat or a dog and letting the way they press into your palm guide your touch. In some sense, this is intriguing for him, too - how rarely does he engage in this sort of touch. How easy it would be to curl his fingers in and twist up the jaw by the hair, exposing the neck to...

Ah, petting, petting, yes. )

These things are why I call you cute, you know.

[unsync]

[ In an ideal world, maybe. But one possible interest of his already has someone and REDACTED, and the other isn't someone he can ever touch. He can't say 'even if', because the reality is just that, and he doesn't feel like he deserves either of these things. Life indeed isn't fair, and he knows so very well. Now, is it reverse spiders georg unfair. Ehhhhh jury's out...

He had meant it in a different way, but the increased head petting isn't something he can really find it in himself to say 'stop' to. It's such a small gesture, but one he's starved for. Usually, he refutes a declaration like that, shaking it off in embarrassment -- but now, it sends a slight shiver down his spine, and his protest is weak. ]

I'm not.

[yourlenore]

( If Mishka can claim the title of "Not the worst thing to happen to Ryuki," there's no reason he wouldn't be satisfied with that. He expects little of himself, and he's satisfied with clearing the lowest of bars. Not that he exactly loses sleep over being the worst thing to happen to people - in general, not specific to this poor guy.

Mishka finds himself amused by the protest, especially in contrast to his reaction. Misplaced pride is also cute. )

Then how would you prefer I think of you?

( Gradually his hand slips along the curve of Ryuki's head, caressing the cheek with light touch and cupping his face. )

Handsome? Beautiful?

[unsync]

[ HONESTLY? That bar is pretty high actually to be his antithesis, so Mishka does indeed get to claim a 'not the worst thing' badge.

Ryuki is truly at a loss. He doesn't expect compliments in these scenarios, not outside of typical and expected comments of a more carnal and base nature. This is much kinder. He feels like he swung one way, astonished and stuttering, a miss -- swung the other way, diverted to the bar and shotgunned some things that leave his throat burning so he could agree and still feels like he's missing again. He can only curl up in his seat a bit at it all.

He thought Mishka just wanted him for the square, and his attempt to commit to that idea left him vulnerable here. Too afraid to take it, or something. It'll give him an attachment, and he does have a tendency to get a little jealous. ]

Y-you don't need to call me any of those things. You don't need to seduce me into it...

[yourlenore]

( Is this a little unkind? Yeah, it is. Mishka doesn't really engage in intimacy often - his poisonous body prior generally left him unsuited and uninterested in the effort - and very rarely did it cross his mind. But he isn't ignorant, entirely, that a little bit of intimacy mixed with a little bit of nicety can lead a person on.

He does like Ryuki. But liking someone never means Mishka won't use them for his own ends - and, in this case, his end is sating some sense of curiosity. Would Ryuki lean into this, or pull away? A better person would keep the line from business and interest clear - not so with Mishka. )

I say these things because I want to, not because I believe I have to.

( A big cat's instinct to pounce goes off when a person's back is turned. In the same way, Mishka's instinct to close in when he sees a person vulnerable is somewhere between assassin's instinct, and a function of his own flaws. )

Should you hate it, I won't speak another word. But if you allow me... I would enjoy it - indulging you.

[unsync]

[ Well, how fortunate. Ryuki isn't usually the kind to seek out material comforts outside of the bottom of a glass bin or several, but sometimes, the static -- it just gets to be too much, cutting through the fog. And still yet, he's still a man, and who is he to reject someone's late-night flirting and a heavy-handed offer to go home? Of course, like the haze of alcohol, that too has the promise of never lasting overlong.

He used to be brighter-eyed once, more prone to red flushes of embarrassment rather than brandy, but somewhere, he's bid that goodbye, along with most dreams of anything that isn't fleeting. In other words, he expects this, too, will be brief, and nothing more.

...Still, he's still Ryuki, and compliments only strive him forward and embarrass him in equal amounts. And also, despite being Ryuki, he occasionally finds enough boldness in him to sometimes just say things. Case in point: ]

There's other things you can compliment instead, soon enough. Let's go?

[yourlenore]

( Oho. Perhaps the alcohol was a worthwhile stop, after all. )

And here I thought we might have to do it here if you intended to keep me overlong.

( jk, not even Mishka is gutsy enough to bang in an open bar. Probably.

Thankfully, he'd squared away his payment ahead of time, so they can just head off. He slips off his seat, offering a hand to steady Ryuki if it seemed he needed it, but otherwise sets off with him. Mishka, for his part, is a little broader with his movements - subtle signs of his own tipsiness. )

You know, you're a little more surprising than I expected, alcohol or no.

( He'd pegged Ryuki as a lot more weak-willed, but, compared to most Mishka's seen, he's not at all unsalvageable. )