mellowyellow | IC ♪ ADSTRING VOICEMAIL

[He jumps back from the door with perfect timing, not so much desensitized as just getting used to being surprised.

A few seconds after the door stops swinging dangerously, he forces another deep breath and peeks inside. His voice is soft, warm, though he can't hide his hesitance. Or maybe he can. He holds up the packet of tissues in front of his face.]

Special delivery.

[Still choking on sobs and in a very pathetic voice, Jinx responds quietly. He should be able to hear her, seeing how the back of the couch isn't too far from the door.]

No soliciting. Greenpeace can suck it.

Well, they're gonna have to suck it somewhere else 'cause it's just me today.

[He makes his way over to the couch, leaning over the back to dangle the tissues above her covered head.]

A peace offering for the princess?

There's no need for a peace offering when there was no slight.

[...but she reaches up to snatch the tissues from him, anyway.]

Call it an investment then.

[He pulls out one of those prize smiles when she takes the tissues.]

[The little trainwreck sits up enough to pull out a tissue and blow her nose. It's noisy and messy. After discarding it on her coffee table, she grabs another to wipe the black makeup off her face. All she manages to do is smear it around. She wads up that tissue and tosses it. It bounces off one of the many piles of books in her living room. She hasn't really looked at him this whole time.]

I wanted you to see this place when I had it all fixed up. [Sniffle.] When you climb out my bedroom window onto the roof, you can see all the stars. If you climb up higher, you can totally see where Jade's house is.

[Stalker.]

[He's complacent and surprisingly patient as she tries to make herself presentable, taking in as many details of Jinx's new home as he can. She may be upset over him, but if Lucifer's gone, then that's it, right? He's gone. It's Masaomi who's standing in her living room with her, not him. In the back of his mind, he's about 90% certain that this entire situation - Adstringendum and everything in it - is karma slapping him in the face, but he is damn well going to enjoy what little there is to enjoy while he's here.]

So I take it that's Tsun-kitten for, "Spy on Jade with me tonight, please."

No.

[She goes through another tissue before she puts her forehead in her hand.]

It's your girlfriend for, "I'm really having a hard time right now and I have no idea how equipped you are to handle any of this."

[She's...serious.]

[That causes him pause. How well equipped is he for this?]

Well, it might help to know about any other ex-boyfriends who could kill me with a wink.

[Haha. He's trying to be funny. Really.]

Not them, Kida. Me.

[She shakes her head and growls.]

I was in love with the Devil. I'm damaged goods. I'm screwed up. I'm not a good person. I have nightmares about all the different ways I could slip up and hurt you. Kill you. On accident. On purpose. I'm not even human. I'm hideous and horrible. I'm a monster.

And you're the fifteen-year-old boy who thinks I'm a good idea.

Wow, you're really- that worried, huh?

[He slumps into the top of the couch, slowly melting into the fabric as he runs those words through his head over and over again. She's not really lying. The girl is like a big cat, a predator. Her powers are insane, and he doesn't stand a chance.

What makes all the difference is that with Jinx, he doesn't mind. She jumps when he picks up a knife. She drunk texts him about missing his face. She tosses him into the haunted backyard when he one-ups her. She wrestles with him until neither of them can breathe from laughter. She saved his fucking life.

After what may seem the border of "too long," he raises one hand and begins counting on his fingers.]

One. Was. As in not anymore.

Two. I'd be scared if you weren't a little screwed up after all this crap.

Three. I told you from the start, right? The real bad guys don't care.

Four. You're number one.

Five. It'll be sixteen next month.

[He lifts his head once he reaches number five, to better see what she thinks of these counter arguments.]

[Silence really can be deafening. Her heartbeat pounds against her eardrums, her breathing seems a lot louder than it should be, and she could swear she hears a ringing. When he finally begins the list, there's both relief and doubt.

Especially about the first point he brought up.

She's not over Lucifer. She doesn't know if those feelings are still love or if they ever were, but him not being here feels like a piece of her is missing.

It takes her until the fifth argument to realize that, if Kida disappeared, she wouldn't have even gotten out of bed. She sighs.]

Come sit down, will you? If you're already resigned to putting up with my shit, you might as well hug me or something to make me feel better.

[He doesn't waste another second. When she invites him to sit down, he hops right over the back of the couch to bounce onto the cushion beside her. He's just as quick to move closer. A delicate matter such as this clearly requires his quality enthusiasm.]

Will you say the magic word~?

[She gives him a look.]

Do you want me to start using magic words?

Maaaaybe.

[But he's already reaching around her for a hug.]

[Before he can link his arms around her, she pulls herself into his lap and curls up against his chest.]

Abracadabra.

[She mumbles it and...absolutely nothing happens. Look, she's really not in the mood to mess with him right now.]

A wild Jinx appeared.

[Well, if she wants on his lap, he's going to be the last person to ever say no. His arms wrap around her anyway.]

[With as much playfulness as she can muster up, she curls her lips back and hisses. It's not a threatening hiss. Probably the sound a really lazy cat makes if you poke it too much.]

Was that wild enough for you?

Feisty too. I like my wild Jinxes feisty.

[She nuzzles her cheek against his chest, feeling safe with his arms wrapped around her. There's still that pit in her stomach. Kida being there for her doesn't change the fact that another person may never be there again.

But this is what she chose.]

I don't feel feisty. I feel like a big gray blah.

Big gray blahs can be feisty too. [He softly blows into her hair.] They're also really comfortable and make the cutest pouting faces.

I do not. [She says...with a pouty face.]

And you're not supposed to agree with me.

With your sexy wiles~? You can be anything you want. If you feel like a big gray blah, then you can be a big gray blah. And if you feel like a shoulder massage...

[Very suddenly, she was no longer on his lap. Her bottom was firmly planted on the rug in front of the couch, her back pressed up against Kida's knees.]

What if I feel like a shoulder massage?

[She was a very subtle creature, as apparent.]

Then you can be a pampered princess for the day.

[He can't help but grin at how quickly she gets ready. How can he not feed a Jinx starving for attention?

While no expert, Kida Masaomi is well practiced in this regard, and those hands move in like hawks to clasp her shoulders, massaging as much stress out of her as he can.]

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