soul_logs | ╰☆╮ ( CLOSED ) could it be that i played the game

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╰☆╮ ( CLOSED ) could it be that i played the game

Characters: Lucy Heartfilia and Sougo Okita.
Location: Some street! ... I am so good at this. Can you tell? [deadcat]
Rating: SM. Interpret that as you wish!
Time: Sometime during the Invasion; will update with specifics later.

Chaotic would have been an understatement to the current state of affairs in Death City. There were several, undeniable issues that were made genuinely more evident with each and every ongoing invasion. Each weighing more heavily than the first, and the shouldered collectivism of the entire farce caused her to a fair amount of discomfort and fatigue. However, though she was fully aware that she lacked the power and a partner to make a huge difference in the current events, she couldn’t dismiss the desire she had to protect others. Not to mention, the simple and slender desire to confirm the immediate safety of those within her tightly knit circle.

Sougo, naturally, was no exception to that rule, and was no stranger to her priorities. Though, with the madness that had permeated the atmosphere, her head was still swimming; fogging up her mentally established to-do list. Closing her eyes, she gives herself a moment to breath. A clean inhalation and exhalation of air. She wouldn't forgive herself if she fell victim to something like this. After all, she had her guild mates and friends to support her. That's all that was necessary. Her brows furrowing slightly, she mutes her stray thoughts almost instantaneously.

With a hand wrapped firmly around her temporary weapon of choice, she focused on the road ahead of her. It was latent with possible troubles, but she couldn’t allow herself to focus too heavily on those possibilities. After all, she had resigned herself to this task and she refused with the entirety of her dignity and pride that she would not retract her resolve. With more determination than ever, she sets out to move, her strides only managing to gradually come to a halt when a familiar figure is captured in her peripherals.

With a loud voice, she immediately calls out after him, “Sougo! I was looking for you!” Though, her voice contained a lot of volume, it did little to hinder the sounds of concern that were genuinely laced in her voice. Stepping in closer, her eyes are watchful and vigilant as they roam over his form, checking for signs of exterior injuries.

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Wow, you look too tired to be waving off her concern, mister!!!! But, she’s more than aware of how futile it’d be to argue against his peculiar misconception of “fine.” (Was this what Elfman candidly called a “man’s pride?”) But, whether it was skewed or not, she was infinitely grateful for his ability to curve the guilt that she had previously been feeling victim towards. Though, Sougo generally had an inexplicable way of functioning, she couldn’t deny the genuine way in which she found herself drawn to it. ... it wouldn't be an overstatement to say she was ... fascinated. It's in this fascination, however, that she finds herself constantly struck in an opaque state; unsure of which route to tread down next.

When she first speaks, it’s quiet, gradually raising volume as she continues; “you’ll really get yourself in trouble one day.” She chastises him lightly, though she can’t deny the natural, but superficial appeal of money or a vacation, but it’s one she avoids contemplating the matter too seriously. After all, it wouldn’t do to get sucked into the slacker’s de-motivational pace. “And isn’t it obvious what I was doing? I was trying to help people.

“They’re always showing people who get hurt or are suffering on the news and through the network and I can’t help but want to make a difference.” Even if the odds were against her. Lucy once again opens her mouth, her lips forming over words mid-sentence before they’re horribly strewn into a series of sounds before – “w-what are you saying!?”

“This is not some….” She struggles for the right vocabulary that could fill in the blank, but is well met with silence and finally a poorly improvised word. “Circus or something!” Curiously, she feels this may have not been the picture-perfect choice of diction, but regardless, it was a done deal. But, what she finds the absolute worst is that she can’t help but to take his words seriously.

Blushing, she inwardly reprimands the discomfort of her beating heart, but seeing as how a method of evading it entirely was lost somewhere in her creation, she instead leaves it to her loud voice to fill the gaps of awkward stillness.

"I don't know. You seem like a freak show to me," he remarked in good humor after her circus comment -- giving her shoulders a weak squeeze. His eyes drifted toward his bed somewhat longingly, but moving there seemed like too much effort. Besides, there were still several zombies on the loose in the complex so although they got a temporary reprieve, it wasn't safe to let their guard down at all. Sleep was out of the question.

He mulled over her words quietly -- prior to the circus comment. Her words about wanting to help people and make a difference because that was exactly the type of person Lucy was -- optimistic, kind-hearted, and heroic (although a little bit ditzy and a whole lot of masochistic.) "How many people do you think you can make a difference to? Let's be reasonable, Lucy. You're pretty useless, don't know how to fight, and don't even have a partner. All you'd wind up doing is causing more trouble if you can't manage to pull something lucky off." He paused, but not long enough for her to explode in between this and his next statement.

"It's selfish of you to need to make a difference to everyone..." he closed his eyes, his words are weary and tired. "Can't you just be happy making a difference to one guy? One guy who might not seem grateful that you put up with him, but really is. One guy who might've forgotten you when he got sent back, but it made him realize he doesn't want to risk losing you again and going out in a battle like that ain't exactly helping? One guy who really doesn't take it well when he loses the things he cares about," he cracked his eye open to peer at her. "That guy's me, by the way."

Her brows furrow slightly as a diminutive look of disapproval makes its way on her features. “Well, it’s not like you’re better…!” Lucy has a curious feeling like she hadn’t entirely evaded his insult, but regardless, her piece was said and she found contentment in that (it has nothing to do with the fact she was shying out by him touching her shoulder, okay?). Though, like most transient things, her feelings readjust itself to a different sight. … Sougo eyes were definitely trailing across the thin spread on his bed, weren’t they?

He needed sleep, but before she could pressure this idea on him by interjecting with her usual complaints, she gets caught up in his next series of words. …. And she can’t help but feel slightly affronted by this. No matter how she slices this, it sounded inquisitively like … he was picking a fight with her. … And the latter half only asserted itself as a confusing factor to the interminably long equation that was Sougo's vagueness. …. Who was he even referring to? Though, he often said a lot of disquieting and potentially problematic things, this may be one of the first times where she lost her entire sight on all forces of conceivable implication. There’s a troubled noise that slips out from her mouth as she tries to mind map the possible meaning behind what he said; unfortunately, it’s to no success.

It’s only at his very last sentence that everything clicks together. And, honestly, it was just like him to concern himself over issues like these…

“… You’re not as smart as you pretend you are.” Smart was an s-word. “Can’t a girl have everything?” she tilts her head, a genuine smile playing on her lips. She brings her arm up, reaching to grasp the hand that held her shoulder and she returns the squeeze. A little late, but it was better than nothing, right? “You won’t lose me and I absolutely won’t lose you. You gave me the key, remember?” A slight pause before a teasing: “Unless, you’re saying you’re unreliable…?”

Sougo's lips set together -- his version of a frown because his expression didn't really change all that much. Even though she was trying to be comforting, it didn't really work out all that well. This could be the last moments they had together if the zombies inconveniently had anything to do with it. (After all, wouldn't it just be plot convenience if they found them there? Sougo already felt like he was signing his death flag.)

His head withered against her shoulder, soaking up the comfort of her presence, "I just don't think life is fair sometimes. There were only two people in the world that I cared about. Kondo-san is one. The other one was my sister. Our parents died when we were still young so she took it upon herself to take care of me. She did nothing for herself and gave me whatever I wanted. So it wasn't fair that she was so sick. It wasn't fair that all I could do was send money back to her to get her to the clinic. And it wasn't fair that she died."

Sougo didn't show any pain over it, but his voice did waver -- it was a wound that hadn't fully healed, no matter how much time had passed. He reached out, collecting the thin chain of her necklace with his free hand and trailing down the length of it to get to the key. "Now I have someone else worth fighting for, but it'll be gone in a moment, Lucy. If BREW sends either of us back, that's it. We don't remember anything, and it's not fair." He held up the key. "This won't make it back with you. And that's the harsh reality. So can you really blame me for wanting to keep you all to myself while we have our time here?"

Knowing that she failed to alleviate his pressing anxieties and possible ongoing apprehensions was a little discouraging, but maybe to some degree she had anticipated it. Comforting a sadist wasn’t such an easy task, she supposed. But, more seriously, she can’t avoid the inevitability of a frown squirming its way into place.

“….” The proper response she planned to implement fall dry on her tongue and the tightening of her throat. The weight on he shoulders reminded her of the constant struggles in Sougo’s life and perhaps the innate pressures and burdens he carried along with him; whether they were verbalized and clearly articulated or not. She knows these words are profoundly distinctive, even without him even defining it as such. Lucy is silent as he speaks, respectfully allowing the stillness of the atmosphere to swallow up and contemplate on its magnitude. In some ways, she could relate. Her mother died young and she can’t deny the fondness she had for her and how akin they really were.

She senses this deep-rooted and all-inclusive respect in Sougo’s feelings for his sister as well.

But, she’s fairly certain by the way he described her that the feelings were more than mutual. His sister loved him in the same manner and somehow placing these thoughts together, tears build up and glaze over her eyes. She closes her eyes, bringing her hand back to her face to rub them. As his fingers trace the chain on her necklace, she calls him, “Sougo,” her voice is soft and full of affection. “It’s unfair, but…

“I don’t believe things will end so easily.” With her tears wiped clean, she leans in, reticently planting a chaste kiss on the crown of his head. She honestly wasn’t sure of her own words, but if they could support him even in the slightest….

He didn't say anything in response because he had nothing positive to say. And weirdly that bothered him because normally Sougo thrived on bringing the negative things to light.

So he chose to initiate a topic change without necessarily using words, lifting his head when her chaste kiss came and intercepting her lips with his own. The hand holding her necklace allowed the chain to slip from his fingers so they could tuck in her hair instead, drawing her close to him like this was some cheesy, shoujo manga where the world around them stopped for a few moments just because they were kissing.

Of course, the moment didn't last long because the world and danger didn't stop around them. There was suddenly a loud bang against the door that jolted his back and caused his attention to quickly snap toward it. His eyes narrowed and he grabbed for his sword again. "Lucy, help me up. We need to pull some furniture over and block off the door."

And he needed to somehow find strength to do this since he couldn't seem to pull off standing on his own. Shit! This was the worst time for fatigue to make him useless.

Naturally, Lucy had her own marvels about this intimate moment and though they were nothing like the “shoujo manga” he thought of or Erza’s “smutty novels,” she supposed they were just as special if not superior. But, of course. Of course. Knowing her luck, they weren’t given the time. She cringes immediately upon hearing the scraping sounds at the door and she resigned herself to continue to do her best.

Lucy stands up, her legs feeling slightly weak from all the running she did prior to the current state of affairs. Despite this, however, she decidedly evades the feeling lethargy, dusting herself off in a swift motion before offering him a hand. She glances around the room. “Should we start by pushing the bed first … or?” Her eyes scan towards the nearest chair and using her foot, she reaches out for it and drags it into her grasp. With this she puts it under the door, wedging it between the handle and the ground. She only hopes it could hold until they could devise a better safe covering.

“Once we’re safe, I owe you one.” A nap that is. That’s the least she could offer, at least once these abrupt threats were tossed out of the way.

He accepted her hand with his free one, pushing the sword into the floor to help drag himself to his feet. He just needed a bit more fight. Just a little more. He may have been at the end of his energy supply right now -- but he could pull something else out. Why was he so weak, though? Sougo never felt this exhausted, this beat up, this...physically drained. And then it dawns on him. His meister ability. He had been pushing it to the limits, using power he wasn't used to having and it damaged him.

He laughed a bit, "Magic..." the sentence was out of the blue and he spared a glance toward her when she wedged the chair under the door. "I used it all up. So how do you recover from that? You'd know, right?" It paid to have a mage girlfriend! Sougo stumbled forward, moving toward the opposite end of a long book shelf. He gestured for Lucy to come over and grab the opposite end.

"The chair should hold temporarily, but we need something more solid. If we put this in front of the door, we'll buy ourselves more time. Maybe we could move to the bathroom for double security, block the door off in there and wait it out. I can drag my pillows and blankets off the bed and it'll be just like having a hangover." He said this like it was supposed to be something exciting and romantic -- passing out at the foot of a toilet.

Sougo’s question comes off a surprise to her, not to a startling degree, but it was an inquiry she never dreamed of receiving. There’s a smile that appears on her lips before a thoughtful pause as she skitters across the room the shelf. She grasps it tightly, signaling with a nod that she had secured the other end. “Well, I don’t think there’s much you can do. Usually magic restores itself after rest and time. There’s only certain types of people who can restore it on their own, but it’s usually due to an external factor.” Like Natsu and his fire, or even when performing a joint magic, but after much secondary consideration, maybe it was the miracle performed by the users themselves. That was a thought.

“I’m ready when you are.” She took in his idea and agreed wholeheartedly (though, admittedly there was an ample amount of (unsure) at his hangover comment). The zombies strength was only in their numbers, they lacked intelligence and their speed hardly met up with theirs so there was that advantage as well. Regardless, if they did make it through, they had the advantage of terrain and weapons. “As long as you don’t start drinking. We wouldn’t a repeat of--”

The day you confessed, but …. how embarrassing. Lucy forcibly shifts her thoughts elsewhere. What was she doing reflecting on that moment at a time like this? … especially with a guy who’s idea of romance was a bathroom party for two.

Well hey. The bathroom has a shower and they can get cleaned up together. Sougo doesn't think it's all that bad of an idea, okay.

But he assisted with the bookshelf as best as he could, shoving it in front of the door and leaning against it for a moment to recuperate. Once he gathered the strength the move again, he snatched his covers off the bed and stopped by the kitchen to pluck up a bag of chips (they could be in there for a while! Food was essential) and guided Lucy into the bathroom. He gestured for her to grab a chair from the kitchen table in passing because his arms were kind of full at the moment.

But with the sound of the banging behind them, he hurried into the bathroom -- dropping the items on the floor near the toilet and waiting for her to enter before he shut the door and locked it. The chair was used the same way as before when Lucy had blocked off the front entrance -- Sougo jammed it up under the knob and let out a breath.

"Alright. That's it. That's all we can do. The rest is all up to how lucky you really are. So don't let me down," he rubbed her head as though for good luck, letting his hand rest atop it to pull her in close and plant a kiss on the side of her hair. Then, he headed toward where the blanket was dropped, spreading it out on the floor.

"In the meantime, we can make out?" It was suggested so-very-innocently.

Now that the shelf was put into place, she goes through the motion of wiping her brow, allowing a fraction of time for relief to settles before going on to the next text. She was arduous in her tasks and was sure to follow directions and keep her eyes locked on the other, being sure to watch his back with vigilance. There was always room for error, after all. Nodding towards him once more she reaches over, grasping the other free chair and dragging it into the bathroom, her feet moving swiftly over the room she slowly became surprisingly familiar with.

“Are you questioning my luck?” she interjects soon after the bathroom door is shut and the safeguard (the chair in this case) is put into place. “It’ll be fine, I can assure it.” And well, if not, she would do her part to protect him as deemed fit and necessary. Lucy finally allows a brief drop in her guard, seeing as how they at least created a safe house, first thing was first- “You should re—

“What! What are you even thinking!!! How could you even suggest something like…” She reaches out her arm to touch the place upon her head before reaching out to grab his, motioning downwards. “R-rest comes first!”

His head hit the blankets with Lucy's forceful push, and he lingered there -- not really putting up much of a fight. "I can't rest." His voice was muffled into the fabric before he turned his head to speak clearly. "Not while they're out there. And especially not if they get through." He eased up onto his arms, slowly sitting upright. Besides, there would be plenty of time to rest if they got killed. Right now, he needed to spend time with her because it could be their last few moments. His hand came up to reach for the back of her head, and he drew it close to his chest, holding her there for a minute.

"I really am glad to have met you," his arms encircled her shoulders and his chin came down to rest atop her crown. "I didn't really have a lot of good going for me, Lucy, so I'm not so sure you're the lucky one." A pause. "I was lucky you gave me a chance." This sure sounded an awful lot like goodbye -- because Sougo would never be this 'nice' otherwise, right? In his mind, they were in here, waiting for the death that would inevitably come. Neither of them had enough strength to ward off an attack and the bathroom left them trapped.

But he was prepared to throw his life away for the task of protecting her. Who knew. Maybe she would be able to live if he did.

She wasn’t used to such cynicism, rather even if she suspected it’d be her last, she’d keep her held up high, no words of “can’t” or “impossible” lining her rose-tinted vision. Perhaps because it was exactly in times like those that she felt what innate amount of valor or heroism was necessary to express; there were no other options but to live. “You can rest…

“Isn’t that all you do on your day off, anyway?” Lucy’s weakly attempt at humor slips out from her lips unceremoniously and dies on her tongue more readily than she has previously anticipated. There’s a pregnant reticence that comes with the suddenness of their contact and the words that came after. Taking them in, she’s more than aware of its implication. Bringing a hand up from the side she reaches over to pinch his cheeks. Both a reminder of her presence and an action that came with the intention of drawing him out from the dark spaces that seemed to confine his mind.

“I’m the one who’s lucky. I always say it, don’t I?” A soft expression graces her features, there’s no curve of her lips, but the feeling remains. “I won’t let you die. And of course, I won’t die either.” Strength always came in times of need, right? At least she’d believe in that, she preferred mysticisms to cold hard logic any day; it’s the base of what being a mage was all about, right?

"Owowowow," he overexaggerated when she grabbed his cheeks and said her part with her usual, enthusiastic optimism. Sougo furrowed his brows. How did he retaliate that? How did he crush her bright burning spirit right now when she sounded so sure and positive they were going to survive this together? He supposed he could allow her to live in the illusion. (Part of him must be going soft).

"Alright, fine," he reluctantly agreed, drawing back and sinking wearily onto the blankets. Sougo scooted so he could rest his head on her lap, laying on his back and looking up at her. "But I think you should at least let me get to second base -- you know, just in case you're wrong. All the way wouldn't hurt anything either, but I know that's a no-go. Maybe third base?"

He always had to push it with Lucy simply because she was so easy to rile up. He didn't actually expect her to agree (he wouldn't argue if she did!) but this was the girl who was stingy with kisses. Psh, her whole ten a day rule. Or was it five? He couldn't remember.

Immediately upon his agreement, her shoulders slump downward slightly, generally pleased by his final agreement. Relief was an understatement and being a mage who’s experienced drainage of magical energy, she knows exactly how detrimental that could be and how exhausted it makes one; both physically and physiologically.

She watches as his head finally recedes into a relaxed position on her lap and though normally Lucy would feel embarrassed, she’s somehow at peace with this--- that is, until he opens his mouth. …. There’s a pattern with these things, she notes.

“Is that the only thing you can think about!? At this rate you won’t even get to 1st base.” …. What were the specifics behind these again? … could they have already reached it? It’s a thought she’s rather not give fuel to. “Just rest!! Geez, every time you say something…”

Sougo looked up at her (it was hard to see her face from this angle, but he did have a good view of her breasts.) "We got to first base way back when we first hooked up. Man, Lucy, get with the times." He fought to keep his eyes open, not just to be defiant, but because he feared if he closed them now, he wouldn't wake up -- that the zombies would get in and Lucy would be helpless. Sougo may have been a lot of horrible things, but he was also old-fashioned and believed that to be a man, you had to protect the things you cared about.

Laying down should have been good enough, why was it such a struggle to stay awake? His eyelids drooped and he started to drift off before promptly jerking himself awake. "You'll wake me up at the first sign of trouble, right? You're not gonna be stupid and take matters into your own hands, are you?"

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╰☆╮ ( CLOSED ) could it be that i played the game

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sorry for such a long wait! [dead]

it's always well worth it for your tags my Bijou <3

oh jean..... you know i feel the same except you're always so beautifully fast u///u

nooo not at all. ;A;

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