[Like a dull knife Dodger's habits sting inside her. The nickname, the same cigarette brand with its acrid smell... What an awful, twisted girl she is. Wishing that the person holding her while reflecting herself was a different scarred man who makes her feel as if she stands before a mirror.
The guilt and yearning mix inside her like milk and tea. Once combined impossible to separate. It makes her pout and nuzzle in against the crook of Dodger's neck.]
I don't wanna go back.
[I don't want to be the adult I've pretended to be since childhood.]
[Dodger startles a little when she nuzzles into him. He sort of expected to have to fight her on letting him smoke, or at least deal with some comment about the smell. She must be... more drunk than he thought.]
I'll find us a spot, then.
[His skin warms up, until he feels like a heated blanket. It's the best he can do to reciprocate the affection while he's walking, trying to remember where the nearest Mating Season pod is.]
Don't fall asleep, by the way. Or I'll just leave you there.
[He won't, he'd feel weird about it. But he also feels weird about coming off as entirely caring.]
[A pause. She simply holds onto them while looking over the logo for the box. The heat he gives off makes her uncomfortable. The alcohol, her sweater dress, and his radiating warmth almost lulled her to sleep until she wanted to instead start wiggling out of her clothes. Thankfully he's holding her in such a way that she doesn't attempt it just yet.]
[Dodger nods, and waves the flames away. Sure, then she can just... hold the cigarettes and feel whatever she's feeling. He doesn't really get it, but aside from being distinctly aware of where his cigarettes are until they end up back in his pocket, he doesn't really think much of it.]
Not really. But it's cheap, and cigarettes are cigarettes. The man that raised me smoked them, his father smoked them, and now I do.
[That's really all the thought that went into his brand loyalty. That, and the feeling of something clicking that he sometimes gets from different things. Ayn Rand novels, songs by the Ink Spots, pictures of the deep ocean. That feeling is much harder to explain.]
[Something between displeasure and relief wells up inside her. Good, there's no connection, but still...]
Okay, so I see them around because they're cheap. That's all I needed to know.
[Frankly? She's bored with them now. Her grip loosening enough that he's welcome to take them from her if he'd like. Ugh... why can't dudes just look elegant and smell refined and—
Well, maybe she just has a lean toward more effeminate types, even if she likes both. She huffs a very sigh much like the type a house pet would that makes a person want to say, "What? Like you pay rent?"]
[That sigh honestly does make him think of his dog. It's a rare sound from Crusher - he does have things to worry about, because he lives with an incredibly unstable man who does not like dogs. But Dodger's heard it enough times at least to make the connection, and let out a little amused sigh through his nose while he takes his cigarettes back.]
I've seen a couple people that smoke the same kind, yeah.
[He's pretty sure he smelled them on Dabi, the one time they were together. Although Dodger honestly can't tell most brands apart by smell, he just knows the Lucky Strikes smell by heart.]
No. They smell disgusting, they ruin your health, and the recurring cost sounds like a nightmare. I just... I have a friend who smokes them too. Wanted to know if there was anything special about them.
[Being self loathing and slotting yourself with bottom barrel cigs just sounds like something he'd do too. So the reason being "they're cheap" makes sense. Funnily enough, that certain someone she's been thinking of is Dabi.]
Money has to go somewhere. I'm not really spending it on anything else.
[He got himself a decent wardrobe, even if it's a lot of copies of the same items, he's got a guitar and he's not too fussy about luxuries. So almost all of his money goes into food, coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, heroin and lube. And semi-frequently into dates.]
There's a Mating Season pod near here. Around that corner.
[He pauses.]
They usually listen better to higher-ranks, but you're... wrecked. So up to you, if you think you can set it up, otherwise I'll handle it.
[Dodger tips his head, and lets out an amused snort.]
Sure. Then you can talk to them.
[All according to plan... because he does not want to talk to the staff if he can help it, and he didn't have a plan for what sort of room to ask for. But once they get to the desk, he carefully helps her back to her feet and just sort of.... looms behind her while she handles things.]
[Tohsaka uses the clerk counter to help balance her weight. With that handled, plus spitefully determined focus, she convincingly passes as sober. Demanding a clean, comfortable space to engage in a "bonding game" which convinces the staff they'll be using the pod for intended purposes. The staff tells them pod #9 should suit their needs, and any charge will (damages, refreshments, etc) will be sent to her watch after their stay.
Tohsaka nods, but rather than walking off she... looks back over her shoulder at Dodger. Expecting him to pick her up again.]
[Dodger pauses at first, briefly expecting to follow her or (more likely) to pick her up when it became apparent she couldn't walk. But the expectant look gets another amused noise from him, and he obligingly picks her back up.
This close to the destination, it's even more tempting to teleport. But he really doesn't want her to get sick from it. So he'll be good, he'll walk there, even if that means Rin gets to watch him struggling to open the door. He's gotten far more practice with opening them since coming here, but there were years before where he only ever teleported through walls, so the muscle memory just isn't there. He'll get it eventually, though, and maybe it'll just come off as him being more drunk than he's letting on.]
[Look, when you have a man as your magical familiar just casually tote you around like you're some light-as-a-feather shoulder cat it's easy to get used to fast when someone else tries it. Not only that, but almost instinctual is the impulse to request anything she knows will save her from further embarrassment (though with the alcohol cutting through her inhibitions and impulse control, that sometimes falters).
Tohsaka cannot help herself from snickering when Dodger fumbles with the door, but she quiets once they're in. The pod is fashioned in a cozy way that fits her "comfortable" request. The entire "flooring" is fashioned like if a recessed couch was built wall-to-wall. Above them is a projection of a night sky with countless stars and a galaxy band to make one feel like they're stargazing at a campsite rather than stuffed in a pod. When they first step in there's a small table to place refreshments and a non-cushioned spot to kick off shoes. The table has mood lighting to act as a replacement for a fire pit, and allows the two to see each other just fine in the "dark" of the pod. Various shapes and sizes of throw pillows are also available to up the comfort factor.]
[Interesting... this is problem the closest to being out in nature that Dodger would actually want, and it's definitely not something he would have thought of himself. But it's nice, it's cozy. It kind of makes him wish he had his guitar on hand.
He kicks off his shoes before setting Rin down again, and taking the whiskey bottle from her. He works on opening it idly while she's getting settled, looking around to take in the room, but he doesn't want to move too far away from her - just so he can catch her if she stumbles.]
Good pick. [He knocks back the bottle, and drinks a quarter of it immediately.] Do you remember whose turn it is?
[Because he sure doesn't, but the game seems to be the best way to connect with her so far.]
[Despite the fact that Rin has to settle herself on the cushioned area before she kicks off her pumps does not deter her from puffing out her chest and proclaiming:]
Does it really matter? You couldn't even open the door! Ask away. You hardly even make me drink all that often.
[Okay, but Rin is petite. Even without the mutant shit Dodger has going on, she simply has less mass to her than he does and still would go down easier.]
[Dodger lets out a huff of laughter, and settles down on the cushions beside her. Close enough that she can lean on him, if she wants, but he isn't going to immediately assume it's welcome.]
I don't usually use doors... just didn't want to hurt you by teleporting.
[Although he honestly wouldn't be surprised if she insisted on getting teleported now out of spite.]
Who's someone you'd be pissed off if you found out I was talking to?
—Tch. You're asking that just because you know it's a guaranteed pass.
[She makes an open-and-closing motion with her hand. A gesture to let him know he should pass the bottle so she can throw back a shot's worth of the whiskey. With the glasses left at the restaurant, well... she'll just take a swig.]
You should feel lucky I haven't taken any other cheap shots yet.
[He's probably going to be drinking most of this bottle anyway... and then he guesses the game will be over, although he can't say whether it matters who won. Rin was always going to get drunk before him, even with him drinking for fun on top of it. Feels more like he's toying with her than anything.]
Hey, you can't say you're not a little surprised about how actually forthcoming I've been! I'm actually a wellspring of information if you ask the right questions!
[After her 'shot', Rin holds onto the bottle. It sits in her lap with her hand around its neck.]
You're a wellspring of information if your pride's on the line.
[Which they share in common.]
My brother and I took kick-boxing classes, and we learned how to shoot. Otherwise, no - I don't really do team sports.
[Despite his musculature, Dodger is not really an athletic person. Most of his exercise comes from fighting or sex, and otherwise he's very content to be sedentary. And more importantly, he's terrible at teamwork.
He reaches to take the bottle back, but if she stops him he's just going to place his hand on her lap.]
You don't already know that one? How much of what you learned about me can actually be used? How much of me actually matters? I make allowances, compromises, and I adapt. Mages are raised to value nothing but their research and final goals. My life isn't my own, and as such most of it is malleable. Flexible to suit my needs. You're not all that different, are you? The scaffolding may wear a different coat of paint, but the end result is the same.
[While Rin may smile, no mirth reaches her eyes. Her free hand waves dismissively as to push away the subject.]
If you could only ask one question and have me answer it without passing what would it be? Or have you already tried it earlier in the game?
[That gives him pause, and he's quiet for a moment while he just mulls that over. She's... very insightful, in a way that Dodger just isn't. He can make observations but he rarely knows what to do with them, and meanwhile she seems to have clocked onto exactly how alike they are. It feels like she's just reading his mind, and that is a very uncomfortable though to have.
Fuck the bottle, actually, he's just sliding his hand between her thighs. With no specific plan, just seeing if she lets him.]
I don't know. I'm mostly making you pass to get you drunk.
[He's gotten answers to all the things he was actually interested in, with a few exceptions. There's no plan here, just... curiosity, without the charisma to sate it with normal human conversation.]
I guess I'm curious why you're not afraid of being around me.
[...Hm. Unexpected is the sincerity with which his final statement is made. It makes her wish the journey to the pod hadn't sobered her up just enough to recognize it. One hand grabs his wrist while the other that she keeps on the neck of the whiskey bottle raises it up. Its opening meets her lips and she puts back a few hearty swallows. A shot for the answers she should have passed on, a shot for the chances he didn't take, and another as a punishment to herself for letting herself get this far.]
What? Like you're supposed to be scary?
["You'd have to be important for me to view you as a threat," is washed away with one final swallow. Unspoken and burned away with the whiskey. Rin thrusts the bottle against his chest, and leans up on her knees to get close enough for him to smell the alcohol on her breath.]
A mage's arrogance is unmatched, you know.
[Dodger's hand is pushed away from her thigh, but only so that she can offload the whiskey bottle on him and start undressing. First for her waist belt, and then for the hem of her sweater dress.]
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The guilt and yearning mix inside her like milk and tea. Once combined impossible to separate. It makes her pout and nuzzle in against the crook of Dodger's neck.]
I don't wanna go back.
[I don't want to be the adult I've pretended to be since childhood.]
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I'll find us a spot, then.
[His skin warms up, until he feels like a heated blanket. It's the best he can do to reciprocate the affection while he's walking, trying to remember where the nearest Mating Season pod is.]
Don't fall asleep, by the way. Or I'll just leave you there.
[He won't, he'd feel weird about it. But he also feels weird about coming off as entirely caring.]
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[This is fine. It's okay. She certainly has her priorities in order. Rin will definitely be sober by ten—
Oh, she's trying to grab at the cigarette pack before he stuffs it back away.]
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Need a light?
[He's just assuming that is what she's going for, so he snaps his fingers to light them on fire, and hold out for her like a lighter.]
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[A pause. She simply holds onto them while looking over the logo for the box. The heat he gives off makes her uncomfortable. The alcohol, her sweater dress, and his radiating warmth almost lulled her to sleep until she wanted to instead start wiggling out of her clothes. Thankfully he's holding her in such a way that she doesn't attempt it just yet.]
Is this brand popular?
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Not really. But it's cheap, and cigarettes are cigarettes. The man that raised me smoked them, his father smoked them, and now I do.
[That's really all the thought that went into his brand loyalty. That, and the feeling of something clicking that he sometimes gets from different things. Ayn Rand novels, songs by the Ink Spots, pictures of the deep ocean. That feeling is much harder to explain.]
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Okay, so I see them around because they're cheap. That's all I needed to know.
[Frankly? She's bored with them now. Her grip loosening enough that he's welcome to take them from her if he'd like. Ugh... why can't dudes just look elegant and smell refined and—
Well, maybe she just has a lean toward more effeminate types, even if she likes both. She huffs a very sigh much like the type a house pet would that makes a person want to say, "What? Like you pay rent?"]
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I've seen a couple people that smoke the same kind, yeah.
[He's pretty sure he smelled them on Dabi, the one time they were together. Although Dodger honestly can't tell most brands apart by smell, he just knows the Lucky Strikes smell by heart.]
You're not looking to pick up the habit, are you?
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[Being self loathing and slotting yourself with bottom barrel cigs just sounds like something he'd do too. So the reason being "they're cheap" makes sense. Funnily enough, that certain someone she's been thinking of is Dabi.]
Do you know where you're going?
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[He got himself a decent wardrobe, even if it's a lot of copies of the same items, he's got a guitar and he's not too fussy about luxuries. So almost all of his money goes into food, coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, heroin and lube. And semi-frequently into dates.]
There's a Mating Season pod near here. Around that corner.
[He pauses.]
They usually listen better to higher-ranks, but you're... wrecked. So up to you, if you think you can set it up, otherwise I'll handle it.
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I am not wrecked! I'm speaking just fine and not even forgetting my words.
[Hmph! She turns her nose up at him.]
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Sure. Then you can talk to them.
[All according to plan... because he does not want to talk to the staff if he can help it, and he didn't have a plan for what sort of room to ask for. But once they get to the desk, he carefully helps her back to her feet and just sort of.... looms behind her while she handles things.]
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Tohsaka nods, but rather than walking off she... looks back over her shoulder at Dodger. Expecting him to pick her up again.]
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This close to the destination, it's even more tempting to teleport. But he really doesn't want her to get sick from it. So he'll be good, he'll walk there, even if that means Rin gets to watch him struggling to open the door. He's gotten far more practice with opening them since coming here, but there were years before where he only ever teleported through walls, so the muscle memory just isn't there. He'll get it eventually, though, and maybe it'll just come off as him being more drunk than he's letting on.]
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Tohsaka cannot help herself from snickering when Dodger fumbles with the door, but she quiets once they're in. The pod is fashioned in a cozy way that fits her "comfortable" request. The entire "flooring" is fashioned like if a recessed couch was built wall-to-wall. Above them is a projection of a night sky with countless stars and a galaxy band to make one feel like they're stargazing at a campsite rather than stuffed in a pod. When they first step in there's a small table to place refreshments and a non-cushioned spot to kick off shoes. The table has mood lighting to act as a replacement for a fire pit, and allows the two to see each other just fine in the "dark" of the pod. Various shapes and sizes of throw pillows are also available to up the comfort factor.]
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He kicks off his shoes before setting Rin down again, and taking the whiskey bottle from her. He works on opening it idly while she's getting settled, looking around to take in the room, but he doesn't want to move too far away from her - just so he can catch her if she stumbles.]
Good pick. [He knocks back the bottle, and drinks a quarter of it immediately.] Do you remember whose turn it is?
[Because he sure doesn't, but the game seems to be the best way to connect with her so far.]
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Does it really matter? You couldn't even open the door! Ask away. You hardly even make me drink all that often.
[Okay, but Rin is petite. Even without the mutant shit Dodger has going on, she simply has less mass to her than he does and still would go down easier.]
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I don't usually use doors... just didn't want to hurt you by teleporting.
[Although he honestly wouldn't be surprised if she insisted on getting teleported now out of spite.]
Who's someone you'd be pissed off if you found out I was talking to?
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[She makes an open-and-closing motion with her hand. A gesture to let him know he should pass the bottle so she can throw back a shot's worth of the whiskey. With the glasses left at the restaurant, well... she'll just take a swig.]
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You should feel lucky I haven't taken any other cheap shots yet.
[He's probably going to be drinking most of this bottle anyway... and then he guesses the game will be over, although he can't say whether it matters who won. Rin was always going to get drunk before him, even with him drinking for fun on top of it. Feels more like he's toying with her than anything.]
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[After her 'shot', Rin holds onto the bottle. It sits in her lap with her hand around its neck.]
Did you participate in any sports as a kid?
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[Which they share in common.]
My brother and I took kick-boxing classes, and we learned how to shoot. Otherwise, no - I don't really do team sports.
[Despite his musculature, Dodger is not really an athletic person. Most of his exercise comes from fighting or sex, and otherwise he's very content to be sedentary. And more importantly, he's terrible at teamwork.
He reaches to take the bottle back, but if she stops him he's just going to place his hand on her lap.]
Why are you okay with me getting to know you?
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[While Rin may smile, no mirth reaches her eyes. Her free hand waves dismissively as to push away the subject.]
If you could only ask one question and have me answer it without passing what would it be? Or have you already tried it earlier in the game?
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Fuck the bottle, actually, he's just sliding his hand between her thighs. With no specific plan, just seeing if she lets him.]
I don't know. I'm mostly making you pass to get you drunk.
[He's gotten answers to all the things he was actually interested in, with a few exceptions. There's no plan here, just... curiosity, without the charisma to sate it with normal human conversation.]
I guess I'm curious why you're not afraid of being around me.
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What? Like you're supposed to be scary?
["You'd have to be important for me to view you as a threat," is washed away with one final swallow. Unspoken and burned away with the whiskey. Rin thrusts the bottle against his chest, and leans up on her knees to get close enough for him to smell the alcohol on her breath.]
A mage's arrogance is unmatched, you know.
[Dodger's hand is pushed away from her thigh, but only so that she can offload the whiskey bottle on him and start undressing. First for her waist belt, and then for the hem of her sweater dress.]
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