week four | mingle

[showhost]

Welcome to your fourth and final week, teens!

There aren’t many changes around the house today: it seems everyone is dialed in on what needs to be done and the upcoming week. Everything that was on the fritz last week is now back to normal, aside from the Dress Up Your Blorbo curse. You can still do that at will.

Anyway, it's fine that all seems quiet.

There’s plenty going on anyway this week.

Dates | Embrace Space | Property Damage, etc | CR Event | A Thing
Truth Booth Voting | Match Ceremony Submissions

Comments

[hgeegh]

[After what feels like an eternity, they part as quickly as they'd come together. Sanji blinks owlishly down at her, beet red in the face and lips tingling.]

Uh . . . y-yeah, I am . . .

[His voice is airy from a sudden bout of breathlessness. Too stupefied to string together a single thought or even draw back, he gazes into her eyes instead. Then, after a moment of silent searching, a wide grin slowly splits his face as he moves his hand to support her back.]

Are you, Asa?

[warhawks]

Yeah, I'm...

[ She blinks, suddenly more flustered by his reaction than the kiss itself. ]

W-what the heck are you smiling about, huh? Did you think of a way to get out of here?

[hgeegh]

[He nods as he pushes onto his feet, guiding her to stand with him. His expression has nothing to do with getting out of here; if that's what she wants, however, he'll serve it to her on a silver platter.]

If it's an exit, we just have to go through the door. Leave it to me!

[For this, he regretfully releases her to approach the cell door that goes up to his waist in the corner. He kicks it clean off the lock and hinges, sending it flying back with enough force to crack a large portion of the wall behind it, then snaps his head in Asa's direction and gives her a thumbs up.]

[warhawks]

[ This is what she's good at — focusing on what needs to be done right now. Back on her feet, Asa nods, ready to help in any way she can... only to gawk when Sanji goes and does his thing. ]

Holy crap. You kicked it right off... [ She walks over to the newly created opening, crouching to look through at the cracked wall beyond. ] Seriously, what the hell? Only people with devil contracts are usually this strong.

[hgeegh]

This is nothing. If you want, I'll show you what else I can do once we're out of here.

[As he says that, he ducks through the opening, then turns around to offer her his hand and help her along.]

[warhawks]

[ Her mind immediately goes places it shouldn't with that statement. Flustered, she reaches out to take his hand and follow him through the doorway. ]

And you're sure you know where you're going? I don't wanna be stuck here for the next... [ She thinks about how long he might have been here as a child, and cringes at her own comment. ] ... Nevermind. I'll just follow you.

[hgeegh]

[With a rueful smile, he pulls her upright and leads her to the staircase beyond the cell's perimeters. They step past the tear stains and mask lying discarded on the floor on the other side of the bars, and Sanji doesn't look back as they begin the climb.]

There's a door at the top. Once we go through that, we'll be back in the house.

[A ship's basement can only go so deep. Now that he's older and bigger, the climb is even shorter than he remembers it being as a child. Halfway to their destination, the voice of an unseen girl, strained and teary, tumbles down the dark corridor: "The sea is vast. You'll definitely meet kind people someday! Now run! Don't look back!"

Sanji's steps don't falter as bidden, stopping only once he and Asa reach the top. He grasps the door by the handle and pauses.]

Asa . . . My past was never meant to be known to anyone. After this, there are questions I won't be able to answer. If you can't forget what you've seen, just remember that the boy who was once imprisoned here died 11 years ago.

[warhawks]

[ Selfishly, she's glad for Sanji's companionship. He's been a reassuring presence more than once in the last few weeks, and while she feels guilty she hasn't been able to return the favour... she doesn't know how long she would have sat there if he hadn't shown up. Even now, as they climb, the sense of foreboding in the air weighs heavy; enough to overpower her if she was on her own.

Her head turns to the side at the sound of the voice, looking for the speaker, but just like Sanji doesn't stop, neither does she. She follows him footstep for footstep, only pausing when he finally does. ]

Okay. I'll remember. [ Because she definitely can't forget. She squeezes his free hand, patiently waiting for him to take the last step. ] ... I'm still glad I got to meet him, though. Even if it didn't change anything.

[hgeegh]

[What is she saying?

Sanji's hand lingers around the handle in a tight grip. His gaze, though trained on the lever, is unseeing. Something warm trickles from his nose as he swallows down the sudden lump in his throat. His hand grips hers, more out of reflex than a conscious decision on his part, while his lips tremble in tandem with his pounding heart.

All throughout his early childhood, only a single person had ever been happy to see him. Years of trying hadn't changed that; if anything, trying and failing had made it worse. Nothing he does now will change that fact. But Asa . . .

It does change something, because the part of him he desperately wishes to believe is dead quavers at the unspoken love in her words. It changes everything when his heart aches from gratitude insofar that he almost collapses then and there. He clutches the handle and her hand like precious lifelines, desperate to stay afloat and put this behind him, but all he manages is a choked sound as he continues to stand before the door in a stupor.]

[warhawks]

[ Oh... now she feels guilty for making him freeze up. But rather than put him on the spot with an are you alright or is everything okay — both of which she already knows the answer to — Asa stands on her tip-toes to give him a quick peck on the cheek; soft and feather-light. ]

C'mon, pirate. You've got this.

[hgeegh]

[An explosive breath escapes him at the fleeting kiss, cheeks flaring. He heaves as he works through the torrent of emotions welling up inside him, and then he yanks the door open.

Light from the house floods the darkened staircase, warm and bracing unlike the cold basement air. Sanji's hand squeezes around Asa's before he leads them through the threshold and into the kitchen, where he exhales heavily. The foreboding door behind them has already vanished, tucked out of sight and mind as if it had never been.]

Phew! We made it . . .

[warhawks]

What a relief...

[ She braces herself against the counter, still unconsciously holding onto Sanji's hand. Normally she'd try to make herself feel better by thinking of ways she totally could have handled it alone, actually, but for once, she doesn't even try. ]

Thanks for coming to get me. I really owe you one.

[hgeegh]

["That place was never meant for you," he wants to say. After what he just said to her at the door, however, it would be hypocritical of him to bring that place back up.]

No, you don't have to thank me . . .

[If anything, he ought to beg her forgiveness for putting her through all of that. He takes a tentative step around, facing her halfway with his heart still pounding.]

Do . . . do you want something to drink?

[warhawks]

Sure... [ She pointedly waits until he's not looking at her anymore to add: ] Um, but what you said about showing me what else you can do... n-not in front of the cameras.

[ wow ]

[hgeegh]

[Smiling, he releases his hand to start on that drink. He pauses in the middle of reaching into the pantry and looks over his shoulder at her stipulation.]

No? That's going to be difficult . . . Then we can't use the garden.