estoria | [closed] too cold, too cold, vanilla

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[closed] too cold, too cold, vanilla

Who: Athena Cykes

psycholawgy & Simon Buttquill

shacklebreaker
When: Backdated to 26 Jan (?), post CERES tours
Where: Medical facility for now
What: Sailor Moon got owned by Jadeite and it's Tuxedo Mask's duty to save her
Rating/Warning: Simon likes to threaten people a lot

[ Right after the dumb tour at CERES, Athena heads straight for the medical facility looking like a total hobo. Her hair is wet, and so is her dress, and she has no shoes on. And is that blood? Yeah, that's blood dripping from her ankles. It's painful to walk, but what can she do? Oh, and she also reeks. Like garbage. Have you ever met the personification of garbage? That's Athena.

Eventually, she manages to arrive at the medical facility's ER where she immediately gets tended to. They also make her take a shower, or ten. The robot doctors disinfect her legs to prevent any diseases that might come out of it, and has bandaged both her legs for now. So... Walking isn't exactly an option yet. But at least she's been given some ankle support. It's still going to hurt when she walks, but it'll lessen the pain.

She's still in the ER wondering how to go home... Ryuko is likely busy with Nonon. . . Maybe she can text Simon? He'll be like a prince saving her from trouble. So dreamy. But since her CereVice is busted, she has to wait six hours for it to be back up and running again. Fortunately, the tests she had to undergo to make sure she was healthy. Not to mention they also had to check her psychological state of being. All of this took quite some time. ]

At the medical facility ER. Can you pick me up, pleaaaaaaase?
Also please bring a jacket because my clothes are dirty :(
And maybe some shoes too?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Very well. [As they reach his apartment, he swipes open the door, ushering her inside. Only when she's safely seated does he let go of her.]

Tell me everything that happened, starting from the beginning.

[She's been in court long enough to know the kind of thoroughness he expects from testimonies. He'll want to know everything, down to the last detail.]

The tour was fine at first, but the Mr. Mosley led us to waste management. He said we had to be the trash, and he made us go down this chute. It was like a roller coaster, and we were sliding for about ten minutes. We ended up in CERES' incinerator room.

[ She pauses there to see what Simon's reaction might be. ]

The only exit was a door that led to some kind of dock? There wasn't anything important there, but a body of water. And I fell, along with Miss Hawke. Miss Hawke was fine, but I was sure there was something there. I wanted to investigate what was underwater, so I dove, and a giant fish monster grabbed me.

[ That's about it for now. Feel free to cross-examine the witness. ]

[He moves over to where Taka is perched on his usual stand in the corner, greeting the hawk by stroking his crested head. He doesn't immediately offer a reaction at first... at least not any visible one.]

...And I assume that was when your legs were injured. [His voice is quiet. Which, despite how calm he is, is usually a sign he's very, very angry.] What motive could he possibly have to fling you all down there? Aside from taking the idea of a behind-the-scenes tour to some absurd extreme.

That was part of it.

[ the story gets worse. ]

The fish eventually let go because Ms. Hawke saved me, but then another fish ate us. Then it spit is out in anoter dock -- this time, it was outside the city, and it was so far away. I lost my shoes sometime before we landed, so I had to walk back to the city barefooted.

But it wasn't so easy. There were debris everywhere, and some scraps of metal that I stepped on every now and then. And then the junk around us suddenly started moving on its own and started attacking us.

... Please don't get too angry.

...

[Too late, he's already livid. With nothing (or no one) to vent his frustration on, he slams a fist into the nearest wall, with enough force to make a sizeable dent.]

I'm going to hunt that Mosley down, tear him to pieces, and feed him to those monsters myself! Any who dare to stand in my way will be cut down along with him.

[Who knows if he's talking metaphorically or literally. He certainly looks angry enough for it to be the latter.]

Don't...

[ That will just get him into more trouble, and Athena can't just have that. If he'll let him, she'll reach for his hand, and just hold it tightly with both of hers. ]

The important thing is we're alive. That's- That's what matters, okay?

Don't tell me what matters. [He doesn't pull his hand away -- it's starting to bleed where he split the skin -- but he does scowl at her.]

What matters is that you could have been killed. I've heard enough of you trying to act as though anything that befalls you in this city is of no significance, while you've been made to suffer through the errors or the whims of our keepers here this entire time.

I thought I could be patient with this new CEO, but I have had enough.

[ She's not sure what hurts the most: the anger she's hearing, or the fear she's feeling. Whatever it is, though, she's begun to cry. And she lets go of Simon. ]

I was scared... I- I've never felt more scared in my entire life, [ and Simon being angry at her is making her even more scared. It's not helping. ] I'm sorry if I've just been...

I don't know.

I just want to believe that we were saved, [ She chokes up a sob. ] and there's something for us to do to get our worlds back. That's- That's what keeps me going.

[ She retreats to the couch and just sits there, her chin resting on her folded legs. It hurts like hell, but she manages to cover her face and muffle her sobs that way. ]

And if you die here, what will all your work to return to our world have been for? Do you expect CERES will simply bring back your code, when it is so insistent on placing you in danger to begin with?

[He feels a twinge of guilt for making her cry, but only a twinge. He has practice in being harsh in order to lay out some home truths -- or to hide certain truths -- and it's a part he's grown accustomed to playing. Even if it means hurting those he cares for most.]

This isn't court. Your childish faith in whatever you wish to believe in will only hurt you in the end.

[ She fully believes that when you die, your code will be replaced and you'll be brought back as good as new... but perhaps saying that out loud is just making more excuses. It won't make Simon any less mad. ]

I'm sorry. I thought I could do things on my own. If I could find answers, then I'd be able to help everybody here.

[ A beat. ] But that's just another excuse, isn't it...?

It's as though anything I say to you goes in one ear and out the other. No matter how many times I tell you you needn't handle everything alone, you persist in doing so.

[Frustrated, he leaves the room. At first it seems like he's stormed out, until the real reason soon becomes apparent: he returns a few moments later, offering her some tissues so she can dry her eyes.]

Still... There is no use chafing at a hopeless cause like you, when the blame ultimately lies with CERES. Just focus on getting some rest.

I was with other people, and we were helping each other-- [ But yet again, that's another excuse.

She starts sobbing even more when Simon leaves the room, feeling absolutely miserable. Not that Widget can be seen from the angle she's positioned, but he's blacked out already. When Simon offers her some tissues, she just shakes her head vehemently. ]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. [ And she'll keep repeating it in between sobs. ]

Edited 2015-07-08 18:04 (UTC)

[To see her sobbing like this manages to twist the knife of guilt a little further, and it occurs to him that maybe he really was being too harsh. Setting the tissues aside, he sits down next to her.]

...It's all right. [He says it gruffly, as he reaches to put an arm around her, the only thing he can think to do to try to comfort her.] Please don't cry.

[ She just leans on him, but whatever words she says are muffled by her sobbing. But eventually, it hits her that she's not the only one in pain.

With a heavy breath, she wipes away her tears, and takes hold of Simon's hands again. ]

Sorry; I'm sorry... this [ she pertains to the blood, and what else may come to his fists afterwards. ] happened because of me.

[He looks down at her for a moment, and slowly shakes his head, folding his hands around hers.] No, that was my own folly. I should not have lost my temper, least of all with you... when the one I should truly be angry with is myself.

[What would Metis think? He vowed he would protect Athena, but time and again, he's failed to do so. The fact she's come so close to death here and he wasn't there to save her -- nor did he have any idea she was in danger -- is something that brings him deep shame.]

[ There's a shy smile that curls around her lips when she feels that Simon's at least calmed down. But the anger or guilt he feels for what happened to Athena does bother her, and she wants to make him feel better about it. ]

Don't be... [ A short pause. ] Please? It's not your fault.

Unless it's okay for me to be angry and violent when something bad happens to you, too. [ Her grip on Simon's hands just grows tighter, and her smile widens slightly. ]

I think I've begun to understand what you mean when you keep saying you're bound by your duty. Well, it's also my duty to protect you, and to care for you. I won't let anybody do anything bad to you... because you're Simon, and I care for you a lot.

Edited 2015-07-08 19:00 (UTC)

[He'd scoff at her claiming she has a similar duty, had she been anyone else. But this is Athena, and she's more than proven she means every word, after all she did to save him.]

Worry less about protecting me, when I am more than capable of keeping myself out of trouble, and be more concerned about protecting yourself... That is all I ask.

[He's got enough grey hairs as it is, without her continued near-death experiences giving him more.]

[ Simon's lucky she doesn't know about that time a vampire bit him... She'd totally flip if she knew. ]

Just because you can keep yourself out of trouble doesn't mean it still can't happen. So let me worry about you, please? I don't think I would know what to do if something bad happened to somebody very special to me.

[ There may be some underlying meaning to that, but Simon's free to figure that out or not. ]

[That's one thing he'll never breathe a word of, right along with the vast majority of his life on death row. He does, however, raise an eyebrow at her.]

You're being even more cloyingly sentimental than usual. Are you feeling all right?

[He'll even extract his (non-bloodied) hand from hers to pretend to take her temperature. Because how else does one deal with affection, besides being a huge dick about it???]

[ her whole face goes red when Simon checks to see if she's sick with something. her heart races, but she knows that she probably won't be able to keep just watching him from afar for so long. living with him for a week or so made her accustomed so the sound of his own heart - even though he was in a different room when they slept. she's picked up on his mannerisms (mostly), and knows just the right amount of sugar to put in his coffee. and the tea -- well, she's learned how he likes it, too. when he comes his hair, he starts from a certain side and makes it all the way to the other, but leaving the longer parts to be bushy like a samurai would.

there's a lot of stuff athena cykes has picked up on. and while it took her a while to pick up on her own emotions, she feels like she has it right this time. ]

I like you.

[ she says it as flatly as possible, eyes averting the older man's gaze. ]

I like you. It's-- it's not a joke. Or it's not like how I used to say it when I was younger.

[ And again: ] I like you.

[The prosecutor looks stunned. He quickly withdraws his hand at that, and his usually deathly-pale complexion flushes pink. She can't mean that, can she? But she says it isn't a joke.]

...Then I've been doubly foolish. I never realised.

[Simon Blackquill, the master of psychological manipulation, never realised the charge he'd sworn to protect was developing a crush on him. Had he realised, maybe he could have distanced himself from her, kept her at arm's length. Not that she'd let him without a fight, but it would be better that way. He could still uphold his duties, and not risk anything... complicated.

So why is his heart racing? He looks away from her, still flustered, but attempting to keep a cool demeanour.]

For how long have you felt this way?

[ Now she feels bad for saying it, but at the same time, her chest feels a lot lighter. Simon may have scolded her earlier, but that's been resolved now, hasn't it? And she hasn't said it outwardly, but she promises to herself, and to him as well, to be more careful. She doesn't want to see him angry the way he was just back then; that was probably the worst side she's seen of him, barring all incidents related to the Phantom.

Her voice has grown softer, and it's cracked, but she manages to speak. ] I don't know. I don't know... [ And she shakes her head. ]

It- It was fun at first, and we were spending time as friends. But I started thinking of you all the time. I've never. . . It's never happened to me before. Something like that.

[ She's obviously had crushes on say, movie stars before, but on people very close to her? No... she was far too busy studying and trying to graduate as fast as she can to be able to get her badge. She didn't have time to fool around. ]

And then when Ryuko left, and I stayed here. . . I just wanted to stay here forever. [ Another pause, as she starts crying again. ] I liked it when you'd put your arms around me. It felt so warm, and it made me feel safe... and I-- Ryuko's hugs weren't like that. They didn't make my heart feel like it was being twisted.

Athena... [Now she's crying again, and he can't think of anything to say that won't make this worse. He pats her back in an attempt to soothe her.]

Never doubt that I think the world of you. You've grown into a vibrant, strong young woman of unmatched tenacity. But... [He's sure he's too old for her, too cynical, and too damaged besides. What could she possibly see in that?] There are plenty out there far more suitable for your affections than I.

[ She just shakes her head in response. ]

I-- Even if you say that, my heart won't listen. You can be scary, but you're smart, and caring, and... I just-- my heart gets excited when I see you. Or when I talk to you. Or... when I think about you.

I'm weird, aren't I? [ But at least she laughs a bit. ]

... Y, You don't have to reciprocate my feelings, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to tell you, even though you were mad at me. And I guess. . . it's okay if we don't talk anymore after this.

What, What I said and what I did... I shouldn't have done it.

Edited 2015-07-09 11:39 (UTC)

[He looks away from her, brow furrowing. This is still a lot to take in, and truthfully, he's suddenly unsure of just what it is he feels toward her. He's so used to pushing his feelings aside and discarding them -- a carryover from prison. What, after all, did a man resigned to death need with attachments?

And yet...]

I don't want to hurt you... That is the one thing I'm certain of.

[What he isn't certain of is not hurting her means casting his feelings aside as always... Or listening to them, for once.]

Do you truly trust me not to hurt you again, after everything you've already endured?

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