sweethymns | ғaтe/alт.dιѕтorтιon ii

Mad? Yeah. A little.

[ Again, honest: he doesn't see a need to be passive about this at all, apparently. ]

Listen, I've been drunk out on the field before. But unlike you, I have battle experience.

Ah...

[For once, Lien actually looks... Incredibly guilty. People have gotten mad or frustrated with her plenty of times, but even she knows when she's crossed the line.

She doesn't have her gloves on, but she reaches out to lightly brush his fingers with her own.]

Sorry.

We'll go home then. Ai, stay safe.

[ It isn't in his nature to stay angry with someone, as long as they haven't earned his disdain through, say, being Kotomine Kirei. So his reaction is to look exasperated for precisely three seconds, feel her fingers searching for his, and grab her hand to nearly haul her down the street. ]

Some Master you are, little lady.

[ And while that may sound harsh, he doesn't mean it maliciously; Diarmuid can hear the faint concession in the other Servant's tone, and his shoulders relax.

He's pretty sure they'll be fine, which relieves him despite everything. ]

Ah...! Wait, my...

[My hand.

Skin against skin. His hand feels rough against hers, just as she imagined it. It's warm although that could be her prana (and by some luck, Lien isn't reading anything). But it feels safe. Secure.

How many times...? How many times have I wanted to reach out for something? For someone? How many times have I told myself that it wasn't worth it in the end?

And in the end, she must have realized she had been lying to herself.

Lien wants to say something else, but no words come out and instead she feels her eyes mist up. She grabs her glasses and hides her face, but the a single tear escapes, falling to the ground.]

Never mind.

[ He could've been prepared with a thousand lectures on not dying, prepared with some sort of ammunition to strike her down with, but there's nothing he can say to that smile or that look—

—or those tears, something that makes him freeze mid-step and double-take. Indelicate, but again: honest.

He knows what these hands are, the soft, smooth, unweathered hands that wrap around his calloused, war-torn palm. This outspoken, bright, but scared girl, with the weak grip that asks for someone to keep it there anyway. To not let it slip.

His feet stop entirely, and he lets go only so he can tilt Lien's chin up. ]

What.

Was I that scary?

[ It's a gentle joke, in lieu of a 'it's fine'. ]

A little...

[She sniffs, one hand curled into a fist as it wipes another tear away. When he tilts her chin up her blue eyes are still misty as if overwhelmed.]

I... I tell myself not care if people get annoyed or mad at what I do. And sometimes, I don't care...

But then you got mad and then I... I care about that. I'm sorry.

[He's a Servant who's been protecting her life and not only that they reached a strange point where they both... In any case, it's unreal. All these new emotions, these things that she thought didn't exist were bubbling up again.]

...Hey. Do you even know why I was mad?

[ He punctuates this with a heavy sigh, slides his hand from under her chin and rests it on her cheek. Holds her there. ]

Think about it. I'll give you a few.

Mmmm.

[As she thinks her other hand touches the one on her cheek and she may be leaning into it.]

Because I could have gotten hurt and you only got to kiss me once?

Edited 2015-07-01 02:12 (UTC)

I can still kiss you when you're half-dead, stupid.

[ Cu?! But okay, more seriously here: ]

You're underplaying it. You could've gotten yourself killed. This is a War.

Oh. Lucky me then.

[Lien recalls back to the time when she spent time with Diarmuid in the other world; he remarked at how she was taking their situation well.

"I'm probably more worried than I appear. I don't think I can express it very well though."

That's what she said back then. Or maybe her feelings of self-worth really were that weak. How pathetic.]

Would have made you look bad, huh?

[With his hand still pressed to her cheek, she then leans her forehead against his chest.]

And I wouldn't have been able to do this.

Edited 2015-07-01 03:02 (UTC)

[ 'Made him look bad'. He responds to that bit with a light snort, as if he couldn't care less, but relinquishes that misunderstanding in favor of the new weight against his chest. ]

Yeah. What is this, in modern terms again? First base?

[ He cranes forward, rests his chin against Lien's hair. ]

Not even close.

[Should she really explain the bases to him... Really... Well, she won't right NOW at least.]

Although you were on track last time.

... Hey. I have a request.

What, you're asking me for a request after you've made me mad?

[ That question is as facetious as it is rhetorical, so he shrugs, conceding easily. ]

Go on, go ahead.

If it helps, I'm not asking you as a Master.

[She's making the request, as... Well, whatever this is.]

... Um. Hm. How to put this... [Lien's mulling over this, taking a step back and turning his palm over so her bare finger can trace the lines.]

When I sleep, can you sit next to the bed? Keep watch? So I know you're there?

[ And, for some reason he can't quite grasp, his gut reaction is to say: ]

Damn, I'm not a dog.

[ ...Which is a reaction that makes him blink, and then wave aside. ]

...But, alright. You sure you don't want me to be sleeping in the bed?

[She looks up somewhat bewildered.]

... Oh... Um. [Lien glances to the side as the fluster begins to appear and spread across her face.]

If you want...?? I don't think I'd mind??

In the bed it is, then. Hey, now you have something to look forward to.

[ And, well. He takes her hand, as casually as he did the first time, and trots the both of them back towards the direction of their apartment.

He knows that being casual about it helps. Treating it like it's normal. Which, in his mind? It is. ]

[Her grip around Lancer's hand is stronger now, more confident. Their walk home with her hand in his is a memory she's sure she'll treasure forever.

More of those unsaid wishes that had started to emerge from her start to multiply even more. And instead of being cautious and afraid, she wanted to welcome them more, into the fold of what the days ahead of them were going to become.]

[...

Ai already started to make her way home and she's pensive to say the least.

There's a lot to take in. The War, her feelings, the future... But she reminds herself that if those things kept causing her uncertainty, the one thing she can be certain of is her Servant.

She turns to look at Diarmuid with a reassuring smile on her face.]

Lancer?

[She holds out her hand to him.]

I'm afraid I can't walk as steadily as I hoped. Will you be my support?

[ And of course, Ai's Servant is attentive to the things that would have her be concerned: the question of her sister, for one. He's mulled over the question that their tentative 'enemy' posed to them, and has decided, for now, that it could mean any number of things. It could also just be a ruse to stir unrest, for one.

It's his duty to be strong for his Master, so his expression softens when Ai calls for him, with her easy acquiescence of her hand. ]

If you would let me.

[ A light smile, and he takes her hand...

... then hooks arms. ]

—Is this comfortable?

Mm!

[Ai nods letting her arm settle into the hook of his own.]

This is good. Let's get going then.

[ He's glad for her peace of mind, for her smile. They're rewarding to him, gives him purpose: he'd die protecting that, and he wouldn't feel that it was a waste at all. ]

...You'll need to drink water, when we get back. Mornings after one drink too many can be agonizing at best.

Ah. [Her tone turns light and playful again.]

Of course! You'd have experience with that sort of thing. Warriors and drinking. [Ai nods affirmatively.]

It goes hand in hand.

I've been said to be able to hold my drink fairly well.

[ Read: do not drink with him, do not ever drink with him, this is a bad idea, these are bad things. ]

Hopefully that doesn't lessen your opinion of me.

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