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[bountyhead]

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[bountyhead]

[ Her stare is the first to betray her; he enters in his blood-specked suit and she does a double-take, but not because of the blood. She tries to be subtle while her gaze lingers but their eyes meet and she flashes him an awkward smile to play it off.

Her cheeks are next -- without makeup it's a lot more obvious. Heat swarms and there's a rosey pink that starts to spread. Can you blame her?? He's undressing and unloading all this flattery on her and if she just keeps her eyes on the television and plays it cool... ]

A face you "couldn't say no to"? Don't give me any ideas.

[ She tucks a few wet strands behind her ear, a charmed smile on her face, and continues flipping channels. Click. Click. Click. Now his pants are off and she finds her gaze drifting back for just a peek. That's it. That's all.

The moment she averts her attention is when he hovers in and she tenses up only a little but, again, plays it off in that cool way she always does. ]

I have very good taste so prepare yourself.

[controlled]

That was a general you. I'm a hard sell. Ask nicely enough and I might consider it, though.

[ it's said in jest — mostly. rolls off the tongue a little too easily to be nothing more than that. while the traces of bashfulness in her features are noted and written off as cute, he doesn't think to attribute them to himself. it's a willful kind of obliviousness, one that keeps whatever it is between them much easier to manage.

he looks at faye meaningfully, gaze lingering like he's thinking; say this is what he thinks (or rather what he knows) it is deep down. it's best to let it pass. it's best that she finds better, or at the very least recognizes that she deserves it.

and then his head turns back, craning towards the bathroom instead. ]

Heh. [ he huffs out again. ] I'll be the judge of that.

[ the shower takes an hour, more or less — when he does emerge, the metal plating that typically lines his shoulders and chest are off, revealing what what is sleek, ebony synthetic musculature beneath them. like a well built human torso that practically shines like a car, highly defined and colored an inorganic black. the only armor that remains is essentially his crotchplate alongside the suspenders that connect them to his shoulders.

yes, he is practically always fitted in tactical lingerie. no, sadly he does not have it in him to care. tactical thongs are useful in their own right.

there's a towel draped around his shoulders though, and he shakes his hair out like a wet dog. raiden hovers over her shoulder again before leaning down to narrow an eye at the tv screen. ]

This better not be about... cars or something. You mind if I sit here?

[bountyhead]

[ The tactical lingerie is certainly a look. It's through her best efforts that Faye tries not to stare too long when he walks back into the room, selecting play to start the movie. When he asks to sit down, she scoots over just enough to let him, still close enough that their arms brush against one another, and it's at that moment she realizes she still hasn't changed out of the robe. ]

Cars are dull. Dinosaurs is where it's at.

[ Truth is, there wasn't a ton of great options to choose from, most of them being rom-coms or musicals. Hopefully, those aren't Raiden's favorite. She's personally not a big fan. Out of the few left to pick from Jurassic Park becomes the winner, a movie that came out a year before she was born — she can't remember if she's ever seen it. Maybe she hasn't. Maybe watching it will spark a memory. She wasn't counting on it.

The first few scenes unfold and she's paying attention but there's something nagging at her, festering in her head and filling it with noise, making it harder to focus on the movie as it goes on. She waits it out at first, waits for something interesting to happen, waits for him to say something, tries to re-focus. When they reach a lull in the plot, it takes her a second to find her voice so she can tell him: ]

Hey, I... wanted to thank you again for taking care of me.

[ She's pretending to watch the movie now, not quite wanting to look at him yet, shame suddenly ballooning in her gut. Embarrassment. It's taken most of the day for her memory to trickle in and for that recollection of things done and said to remind her just how vulnerable she had been. How careless she can be sometimes. ]

I know I'm nothing but trouble but I appreciate you coming to my rescue. I couldn't have asked for someone better to do it.

[ A breathy laugh leaves her lips as she remembers the moment he swooped in and scared all the ducks away; how dramatic she had been in her gratitude to him. That gratitude still lives and it shows as she looks at him and smiles warmly. ]

[controlled]

Alright, that much I can agree with.

[ a pleasant surprise strikes him. the blue of his eye brightens, the ends of his upper lip furling up in amusement. and then a quiet kind of enthusiasm washes over him in a shockwave and he leans in, pulling his knee up as his gaze settles onto the television screen. ]

This was one of my favorites growing up... a real classic, even. It inspired so many different types of cinematography for the decades to come. Not sure if I'd quantify it as a monster movie, but I always felt kind of bad for the dinosaurs here.

[ for monsters in general, he intends to say. raiden watches earnestly as they fall into silence — it's easy to see how it pulls him in, absorbing him wholly, until her voice draws him back out. for a moment, he blinks as if he's processing what faye's saying. and then a touch awkwardly: ]

It's no problem. I didn't do much. [ a hand moves to the back of his head and idly rubs before raiden sets it back down against his side. that smile inspires a flutter of warmth in the pit of his stomach — an emotional response that he can't deny due to the nature of his body. ] Besides, I'd say you make the trouble worth it. [ a light chuckle. ] You've got a beautiful smile.

[ leisurely, he leans back against the headboard. admittedly, the movie's begun to drone out of his mind and fade into the background. huh. ]

Everything I said yesterday... I meant it. [ a beat. ] One day, you won't have to run if you don't want to. I'll help you get there.

[ instinctually and without thinking, his hand meanders towards her own, gently clasping over it. his bangs have loosened and frame his face, a sight that makes him look softer and more human. briskly, he speaks again: ]

You can hold me to that.

[ she was such a girl, he thinks. terribly young in spite of the appearance she put up. he'd been completely different at her age — a sociopath who feigned innocence and youthfulness despite being bankrupt of both. he thinks back on the feeling of her wrapping her arms around him in her sleep, on the delicate kiss pressed to the exoskeleton of a monster from that same night. it'd been as though the world hadn't quite drained her of that innocence just yet.

maybe the prospect of that in of itself breaks his heart. ]

this thread is killing me in the best way :')

[bountyhead]

[ Faye enjoys learning about him; revels in the way he comfortably shares things about himself without reservation — with her. She's pleased to know her pick truly was a winner; feeling bad when she ultimately interrupts his focus. But even after the fact, he draws all that attention away and centers it on her, unbothered. Something about that makes her feel nice.

The effortless tenderness he gives her only adds to it. She'll be as red as her jacket by the time the movie ends if he keeps on with the flattery like that. Against her best efforts, she can't seem to pin her smile down and so she slinks into herself abashed. He's really good at dulling her sharp edges — drawing out an innocence that, unbeknownst to her, still remains after everything. And, strangely, she lets him do it.

Her gaze retracts to settle on his face as the mood suddenly dips and things become a little more intimate.

I'll help you get there. You can hold me to that.

She wants nothing more than to believe that. Only time will tell if he really means it after she's retreated for the umpteenth time; runs off and refuses to let anyone know that she's alive until she shows up without warning. But those aren't waters she wants to test with him. Right now, sitting beside him, the current object of his warm affection — it was good. Whatever this was. What this had the potential to be, or not. It doesn't have to be anything. It was already good. ]

I'll hold you to it then.

[ Her gaze falls on their hands, absorbing the moment until she slips hers out and places it over his, squeezing it gingerly. ]

I meant it too. Hugging me when you're scared.

[ And surely he knew that but there's a depth to that which expands across many points of expression. Hopefully, somehow, he understands that without her having to say it. There's a pause and then, without any rhyme or reason, she reaches up and brushes a few of his silvery strands from his face. There's something almost loving about the way she does it. ]

I'm here for you. Whenever you need me. You can hold me to that.