♦ ♦ 5th Contract

[mortemscintilla]

 [ It's routine for him to patrol the neighborhood. Hidden on rooftops under the dark sky. Skulking unseen in alleyways. On guard for strange activity. It's the only time he feels like himself anymore. The daylight hours, his mundane obligations, leave too much time to speculate where his life is going. What his life here is. ]

[ No Syndicate. No Gate. No Contractors. No teammates. ]

[ At least this keeps him focused. Allows him to sharpen skills, burn energies, that can be exerted no other way. At quarter to two a.m., a round completed, he slips into civilian clothes. As Li, he walks the empty streets. Stops off at a store for a quart of milk on his way towards a hot bath and bed. The clerk, a pretty redhead, smiles and rings up his order. Hei smiles back. ]

It's a really nice night out, isn't it? I can see all the stars.

[ Patrols are perfunctory. But tonight he's filled with (inexplicable) jubilation. So much that he leans across the counter, tipping the girl's chin up for a kiss. Which. Goes on. And on. And ... Okay, kids. Enough. After a moment Hei jerks back, red-faced and stammering. ]

Ah! S-Sorry about that! I think -- I-I-I think it's a curse.

[ The girl blushes and mumbles likewise. Flustered, Hei grabs his purchase and hurries off. She watches him go, a guilty little smile on her lips. Someone doesn't seem to have minded. ]

[ OOC: Hit with Victory Kisses. Feel free to run into him and get smooched, or vice versa. Just a warning: he may freeze up/eyetwitch/smack/injure your character. Or just blush and sob hideously! Whichever reaction you want is upto you! ]

Comments

action;

[anatural]

[Korra used to sleep. Work hard, play harder, sleep deeply -- that was how she lived until Republic City. Now she can almost mark the hours at night by how often her nightmares wake her. Amon taking her bending. The Equalists killing her friends. The addition of Stupid Mask Guy added a surreal flavor to her darkest dreams.

Sometimes, when she couldn't bear the thought of going back to dreaming, she'd slip out of the apartment and patrol the streets. She ran into Stupid Mask Guy once that way -- it could happen again, and nothing would make her feel better than smashing his face in.

Tonight is one such night. She catches sight of Li hurrying out of a store. What's he doing out this late?]

action;

[mortemscintilla]

[ Luckily -- or unluckily -- Contractors don't dream. At least that's what Hei hears. He's never bought it. He does dream. Just of nothing he'd prefer to share. Violence and bloodshed. Pai. Heaven's War. By morning, he's always shoved the bloody images to the corners of his mind. ]

[ Exiting the store, he frowns. What was that? A powerful curse. He should get indoors - quick - before anything stupider occurs. Midway down the street, his sees a familiar figure. ]

[ Perfect. Ignoring her would be suspicious. Best to engage in chitchat. ]

Ah -- Korra?

action;

[anatural]

[Korra rocks back on her heels and studies him.]

Hey. You're out pretty late.

[Smooth investigator, this one.]

action;

[mortemscintilla]

[ Smiling, he holds up his bag of milk. ]

I was out star-gazing. Decided to do some last-minute grocery shopping. [ Viola, distractions. ] I'm planning to bake a cake tomorrow.

action;

[anatural]

At this hour? [Weird.]

action;

[mortemscintilla]

[ Feigning embarrassment. ]

I'm a restless sleeper. And City-time feels different from time in my own world. Maybe I have a strange case of jet-lag. Without the travel and airplanes.

[ Does Korra's world even have airplanes? ]

action;

[anatural]

It's pretty weird, isn't it? We'd just got out of winter back home, and here is... [Uncomfortable shrug. She's not a fan of the heat.]

action; oh hello -- maybe not smack. :| just saying

[mrsnose]

[Bad timing - perhaps - has him running from one girl and straight into another, who was minding her own business. Groceries scatter everywhere! Well, some of them, and not so far away.]

Oh - be a little more careful there!

action; Fine with me <33

[mortemscintilla]

Oh -- !

[ Discreetly, he rubs his lipstick smeared mouth. Stoops to retrieve her groceries. There's a pesky curse afoot. He needs to exit. Fast. ]

I am so sorry!

[ Rising, he returns the good to her basket. Success! And before Sophie or he can say Wtf, his hand settles on her lower back. Drawing her in as he presses his lips to hers.]

action;

[mrsnose]

[Groceries retrieved, she starts to grin, happy with the success and the help; even steps closer. But he's quicker. And then there is kissing.

She is doing a lot of this today, and it's embarrassing. So much so that, despite it not being a bad kiss (as far as she knows of them), she's still squeaking against his mouth.]

action;

[mortemscintilla]

[ The kiss, though sweet, doesn't linger too long. The curse is -- unseemly as it is. Blushing, he breaks away. Eyes wide as saucers. ]

I am so so sorry.

[ He hates hates hates HATES this curse. ]

action;

[mrsnose]

So - [BREATHE.] So am I! I don't do that, it's not even a matter of usually, kissing strangers or practically strangers is not something I do, and I apologize that this curse has seemed to affect us both.

action;

[mortemscintilla]

[ Yes. Breathe. Breathing is good. ]

Same here. [ Awkwardly, he rubs the back of his neck. ] I think we better wear helmets for the rest of today.

[dignity_misery]

[Carla is not cursed at all, not even the tiniest bit, but she knows what's going around to today, and when she spots Hei, there really is no choice but to approach him.]

Hi.

[...could she have made that more menacing...]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Need to get indoors. ]

[ Anything to avoid the damn curse. Seeing Carla, he nods politely. Manages a shy smile, intending to pass her by, his eyes on the ground. He hopes she's not cursed. But her smile implies that she's upto no good. ]

[dignity_misery]

[Her intentions are never good, ever.]

That's all I get, Li?

[mortemscintilla]

[ He's twigged that early on. ]

Ah! [ Embarrassed, he focuses on his feet. ] Sorry. Just on autopilot, I guess.

[ Let me pass B| ]

[dignity_misery]

[ Absolutely not :) ]

[ She reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder. Feigning concern, badly. ]

Bad day?

[mortemscintilla]

[ Very badly. ]

[ He resists the urge to tug away. Smiling, abashed, instead. ]

Oh no! Of course not. Just a little tired.

[ Let go B| ]

[doeswhathewants]

You are rather lucky one of them has not nailed you in the family jewels. [Just the most amused observation from Serrure.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Sighhhhhh. A kid on the premises too? ]

...I can't stop it. It's this stupid curse.

[ Don't come any closer D: ]

[doeswhathewants]

[A shrug]

Everyone makes such a big deal out of a kiss, there are places where greetings and partings are sealed with a mutual kiss.

[mortemscintilla]

[ He sidesteps carefully around Serrure. ]

It's cultural too. Kisses are a big deal in places like Japan and China.

[doeswhathewants]

Truly? From all of the movies I should not think so.

[mortemscintilla]

...We've had this conversation.

Movies aren't very accurate.