"oh, you 𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐲 bitch,"
bitter words, hollow inflection. it also comes at a lag of precisely three seconds after his floorward descent starts, so, y'know. take it with a grain of salt. thump!
"i," a call from the floor where he's lying (comfortably, alina, fuck +
@needgrowsteeth + whatever wound she won't reveal to him. but the moment passes, swept away by the need to be the knife once more. his gaze lowers, like he might find the missed opportunity to be a human being for her in his lap. fuck.
"fuck; ah ... it's been a minute. i definitely smell +
@needgrowsteeth + "i'm ... sorry. and i'm here. there's not a lot on this earth that could get me outta here, either."
a small quirk of a smile to accompany the extended hand. was it worse to know that, beneath all that ruggedness and the layers of cynicism, there /could/ be a person?
@needgrowsteeth + ever-so-slightly as he watches the violet before him begin to shrink. wasn't that something?
he holds a hand out to her. it's an offer; a request for permission, and a refusal to foist it upon her. take the hand if you need it. it'll always be there. "i'm sorry." a beat. +
@needgrowsteeth + he vaults himself into an easy sit with his bared hand, finally deigning to train his gaze on her. at her. /through/ her. dealer's choice, really.
fuck the potential danger. "are we ... 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑗𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑦?"
@needgrowsteeth the blunt object of her casual affections lets that sit for a moment. it presses in on him. down in the brow first, dipping, furrowing, under the weight of the statement. the face of it, then, the implication.
with leather still clenched between inexplicably perfect teeth, +
@needgrowsteeth + plan a sleepover if i did, lina. all i got was a number on a burner, and a very loose promise of breakfast in the morning along with the six figures. i'm a simple man."
@needgrowsteeth yeah, he contains multitudes. he's written to be functionally dynamic— move past it. he heaves a worn sigh, pinching leather betwixt his teeth; frankly, he's making a real show of slipping one of those jelly-stained gloves off.
"nope." a beat. "wouldn't be here trying to +