♦♦ 16th Contract [Video/Action]

[mortemscintilla]

Nothing's changed here. The usual idiotic curses. The usual whining.

But it beats the alternative.

A poisonous plant to symbolize romance. It fits.

[ 'Li' occupies a bench, legs stretched out before him. His head is tipped back to watch the stars, the curve of adam's apple silhouetted against the dark by a streetlamp. The loose lines of his body, the colder pitch in his voice, telegraph an ennui that is ... not very 'Li.' ]

[ He must be tired. That's the safest explanation. ]

......... I guess the City can expect an outbreak of mononucleosis in the coming weeks.

[ Definitely tired. Or. Something. ]

[ Action: Returning to the City isn't as disorienting as it should be. Not with Hei's frame of mind, or the recent pattern of his weeks. He appreciates the (relative) security of not being on the run, looking constantly over his shoulder. Settling into himself, no longer hyper-aware and jerky, will take more time; his mind still has a transient atmosphere he associates with airports. But when is that different from usual? ]

[ By Thursday, he's made an appointment at the hospital and visited a doctor, leaving with a fistful of pamphlets, prescriptions, antibiotics, and a renewed appreciation for modern medicine as opposed to back-alley stitches and homemade anesthetics. He re-checks his apartments, the safe-houses Underground, his Network Device (any newcomers? departures?) and transmits a message to Mao. ]

[ He doesn't stay home to sleep. Still too wired on slow-fading adrenaline. But after walking a while, he does find a bar, and within that bar, a few shots of bitter. (Bitter in, bitter out, huh?) Hands in pockets, he wanders the City, not sure of his direction, feeling disconnected on the unpeopled streets. It's a cool night; no snowfall. The bed of stars above fascinates him. Settling on a bench, he picks out constellations. ]

[ This is good. Just sitting here and taking in the quiet chirr of crickets, no traffic, no bullets, nothing exploding, just. Imperfect silence. ]

[ Too bad he doesn't notice the sprig of mistletoe hanging nearby. ]

[ OOC: Hei is back from his canon update, with a slight distaste for his now-redundant alias 'Li' -- although he'll continue to derp it up for the sake of security/appearances. If you want to run into him for kissus~♥ feel free. But pls note, he may shove you away/bitchslap, or fluster-&-flail like the fakest of mfers. Reactions are upto you<3 ]

Comments

action (of course)

[indecent_butterfly]

[Well doesn't he just look a sight? Question is what to do about it...it's not like ne can leave well enough alone now can ne?]

Would that not depend on the who and where one kisses?

action (of course~ >:3)

[mortemscintilla]

[ Alert is Hei's default state of being. He doesn't hear Hatter approach (how could he?) but he recognizes the voice. Her again. It's been six months since he's seen her. The memories of his time back home, and in the City, crunch together like pleats in an accordion. Making his head pound. He'll give in to the headache later. But for now, he'll deal with the pain in the ass. ]

[ Taking his time to glance around, he fixes her with a look of contempt, ]

You don't need an excuse. There's already no one you wouldn't bend or roll over for.

action

[indecent_butterfly]

[Oh ne's missed you as well Li...or rather didn't, a week isn't all that long to someone who's lived so long.

Doesn't mean ne doesn't notice the little signs that show through the cracks since they are alone enough for that mask to stay away. Not that ne'll drop nirs anytime soon whether or not he'd prefer it.]

How wrong you are. There are at least one, two or a few. Care to guess if you're on the list?

action

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei's patience, limited from the outset, is fraying. He hopes she doesn't come closer. Arm's distance is a good measuring stick for conversations with him right now. ]

Actually, I can't say I care at all.

[ He says it flatly, without much indication that he's irritated -- or not irritated, for that matter. But he does sit up straight to meet her gaze full-on. ]

action

[indecent_butterfly]

[Ne's used to the lack of reaction, such a familiar trait with another. Except that he looks at nem, instead of through nem. It is a curious thing as far as ne's concerned.

There's no plan to move any closer than necessary, ne does sit on the edge of the bench, close enough.]

Should One share or not then? Hmm...perhaps not, how better to find out a later date.

[anatural]

[It's been a long day for Korra. Going Underground had been an eye opening experience. She'd gotten a job out of it, yeah, but there was a gross feeling that she could only hope a shower would fix.

On her way home, she'd been accosted by a black cat — Mao, not that she would know him. "Sorry, little guy. I've got too many cats as it is." But she picks him up anyway. Maybe Penny could take him in.

She's on her way to the Welcome Center when she spots Li sprawled on a bench. He looks tired. She probably should just leave him alone.

She's never been good at leaving things alone. Besides, she's wanted to ask him more about active meditation. She readjusts Mao on her chest (ow cat claws do NOT belong there) and approaches.]

Hey Li. Haven't seen you around.

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei's psyche may be rattled up and ragged. But his perfect calm is unscathed. He glances around as Korra approaches. Holding Mao, of all cats -- the City does love a good joke. Back home, six months have passed. The bottom has fallen out on the Syndicate; Hei's life has done a one-eighty into the unthinkable. Here, it's only been a week. ]

[ The shift is disorienting. He still can't quite get a handle on the tangibility of his situation. Not that he'll let it show. ]

I had things to settle.

[ Back home, anyway. His tone sits at a deadpan, but it's not unwelcoming. Of course, whether he's addressing Korra or the cat is up for debate. ]

[anatural]

[Korra takes a seat on the bench next to him -- not quite close enough to trigger the mistletoe, which neither she nor Mao have noticed. Mao settles on her lap and purrs loudly, more for Hei's benefit than Korra's. His way of saying Good to see you again.]

Did you get everything worked out?

[It's weird, sitting here with him, talking casually like this. So much has happened between them in only two months. From dork to enemy to intimate to something indefinable. She never would have thought one relationship could change so much, and it had bothered her. How she had let him get so close. How a part of her wants him close again.

But she understands now what Aang had been trying to tell her. Just because you were enemies doesn't mean you can't be friends. Aang always had been a peacemaker.

Korra still can't call Li a "friend," or any other word that makes sense, but the visions from Aang's past have given her a greater comfort with ambiguity.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ He offers Mao a passing glance, Still a ladies man, huh? Too much has changed back home; but in a fit of deterministic fatalism, Hei won't share the details with Mao. Once he exits the City, it'll happen anyway. Really, it's an absurd process, re-acclimatizing to life here, to certain standards that come with any new environment, even though he could leave in a heartbeat, without warning. His gaze flickers to Korra. Memory is a distorting medium, but of course she still looks the same. Still stirs the same itchy, soft-hard reactions in him. ]

[ He imagines, if their roles were reversed, she wouldn't feel the same way. At 17, time passes quickly for you. Hormones and emotions cool into effigies. She'd be more indifferent to him, than he feels toward her. ]

[ Of course, that he still feels anything toward her is surprising. It has to do with Pai, true. But not to do with Pai at all. ]

Most of it. [ His loose ends are tied. Yet he's become a loose end himself -- hunted at every step. The shift from "unlikely" to "reality" is an easy one in his life, however. He's learned how to roll with the punches. ] Is that your cat?

voice;

[onset]

Reminds me of a movie quote.

voice;

[mortemscintilla]

[ The shift in Hei's tone -- his demeanor -- is reflex. A habit born of playacting at normal. Perfectly polite and curious. ]

Oh?

Which one?

[onset]

My memory isn't the best, but I think it went something like, 'mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it, but a kiss can be deadlier if you mean it'.

[mortemscintilla]

That makes sense. Especially if you mean to make someone sick by infecting them with a kiss. [ A quiet chuckle, ] 'Tis the season for flu and all sorts of airborne nasties, after all.

action;

[candothat]

[As if Hei hasn't had enough company for one evening...

Chekov, being Chekov, managed to identify Hei's location after seeing the network post. He sprints to the bench, unbothered by the cold (of course).]

Li! There you are. I have--

[And the mistletoe takes over when Pavel reaches the bench. Unless Li does something quickly, he's going to be on the receiving end of a kiss.]

action; xDDD

[mortemscintilla]

[ If Hei were operating on pure instinct, he'd meet the kiss with a swift evasion, a right-hook, or a knee to the groin. In his trade, he's shed names and skins enough times to be effortless with the transition between Hei to 'Li.' But tonight he's flat-footed. Caught in slo-mo. Not enough to be a threat to himself -- self-preservation is always his focal point. ]

[ But enough that the kiss catches him off-guard. ]

[ Something like shock flits across 'Li's face. But his kiss to Pavel isn't timid, or clumsy. It's assertive. Practiced. ]

[ Not very 'Li'. ]

[ Fuck. ]

action; o///o

[candothat]

['Li' hadn't seemed very 'Li'-like in his network post. As if that wasn't suspicious enough--and it was, since Chekov has doubts about Hei even if he has missed him--this kiss is not the embarrassed, awkward affair that Pavel would have expected. This is the kiss of someone who knows how to kiss.

Chekov would know. He has been kissing Lucy quite a lot lately; she's quite practiced.

When the mistletoe allows him to pull back, Pavel attempts to do so.]

action; ^///^

[mortemscintilla]

[ When Pavel draws away, 'Li' blushes and blanches like a thief. Or a secret bedwetter. A near-perfect display of mortification, either way. His hands fly up to scrub at his face, then drop to fiddle with the buttons of his coat, then stuff themselves in his pockets, as if he doesn't know what to do with them. ]

Ah -- [ He clears his throat sheepishly, ] S-Sorry about that Pavel.

[ He already knows he's slipped up. There's a temptation to drop the charade; he's had enough games for one night. But Hei doesn't operate on rash impulse. ]

[orangetoughguy]

[Here comes Freddy approaching the bench, slowly but surely. He's got his hands tucked into his coat which is layered over some flannel which is layered over a t-shirt because Orange is not build for cold weather.]

Are you awake?

[mortemscintilla]

[ Direct out of a high-risk environment, alert and wired to a zing, Hei hears the footsteps long before he spots Orange. Since there's no apparent threat, he's slow to straighten to an upright position, and to summon his best harmless-nice-guy smile. ]

[ Using a redundant alias can get tiresome. But what other choice has he got? ]

Of course. [ He points a timid finger skyward. ] I was looking at the stars.

[orangetoughguy]

[Strange fella, this Li, if only they knew how much they really had in common after all.]

On your own? Out here?

[That's what rooftops and telescopes are for, Li.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ If only. But honesty and objectives are mutually exclusive in undercover work, aren't they? Moreso if one party is a cop and the other an assassin. ]

Well... [ With an Okay, You Got Me chuckle, ] I guess I did doze off a little.

[ He has a telescope. But that's at his flat, where a talking cat will be waiting with 20 Questions. Surely you can understand his reluctance? ]

[dignity_misery]

[ She wasn't, exactly, looking for him, but she does take notice of him. She didn't really mean anything by it, she just has this very large tray of cookies and she offers one out to him, eyebrows up. Looking a little cranky there, Li.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Even with the fine-tuned paranoia that has yet to settle, he hears her coming. It's not like she's being sneaky, anyway. He glances at the cookies, then her -- a familiar head-tilted visual interrogation. Shakes his head. ]

[ He's in no mood for cookies or kisses from strangers. ]

[dignity_misery]

[ Well it's just too bad about the kissing, bro, because she's coming to sit down next to you and there' just no escape. ]

[mortemscintilla]

[ He doesn't offer a reaction when she perches next to him. Scrubbing a palm across his face, he sits forward, elbows on knees, hands dangling. It's not a sign of concession. He's giving her just enough rope to hang herself with. ]

[ Any funny business, and she can expect to leave here limping. ]