5th Floor Common Room, Thursday Night

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

Normally, Dōjima wouldn't worry about a laundry strike. That's why she owned acres of clothing, so that she didn't need to worry about what to wear. But stuff was missing from her closet, and the only clean things left were her clubbing gear or her workout clothes.

Which is why she was all dressed up, sprawled on a couch while watching Steel Simian. If it was choice between looking fantastic or grubby, well, that wasn't any choice at all.


[Open!]

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[intraspective]

"Any chance you'd take off the jacket?" Ino asked interestedly.

[peace_n_war]

"Not even the slightest," Warren replied evenly, raising an eyebrow.

Damn. And he'd managed to go so long without being threatened with hugs, too. "The jacket stays. Sorry, Ino."

[intraspective]

Woe!

"Not even for temporary freedom from hugging?" She pouted at him.

It'd be, like, fifteen minutes of freedom. But he didn't need to know that.

[peace_n_war]

"If you touch me," he threatened, "I'll burn you to a crisp."

No, he wouldn't.

"Why do you want to see me without a shirt on so badly anyhow?"

Also, Warren asked very silly questions, sometimes.

[intraspective]

"No you won't," she said, with supreme confidence. "And, duh, it's 'cause cute boys always ought to be shirtless. It's pretty."

[peace_n_war]

Damn.

Bluff called, Warren crossed his arms over his chest.

"What will it take for you to stop calling me 'cute,' anyhow?"

[intraspective]

"Why do you want me to stop?" she asked, twisting around fully to stare at him better. "'Cause it's a compliment, you know."

[peace_n_war]

"I don't need compliments. I don't want compliments. Or hugs. Why should I?"

Not big on the warm fuzzies, unfortunately.

[intraspective]

"Did you know," she said, almost idly, "that there's medical studies being done that have results indicating that kids that aren't given enough physical affection--hugs, and stuff, shockingly--don't grow up to be as healthy as the ones that do?"

Her grin sharpened. "So, in one sense, I could make a case for you actually needing hugs." Even if the study had been on, like, one year-olds. He didn't need to know that. "And compliments are good for the spirit."

[peace_n_war]

"My spirit is just fine, thanks." He made a face, trying to come up with an adequate response to that first part. And finally, he just settled on, "I'm going to go ahead and assume that you have reasons to want hugs beyond just being worried about my health."

Which probably came around full-circle to being called cute, but Warren would live in blissful, beautiful denial for as long as possible.

[intraspective]

"I've a right to worry about everyone's health," she said, only half teasing. "I do work in the clinic after all."

She couldn't remember if she'd told him that before.

"And I like complimenting people!" Better than she liked getting compliments generally. "As for hugs... I like hugging people."

Especially if they didn't want hugs.

[peace_n_war]

"You like a lot, don't you?" One of those hard-to-please girls. Also, annoying. "I don't. I don't like being touched. I don't like being looked at. I don't like being talked to. I don't trust most people around here enough to let them hug me, and I don't need anyone saying anything to me today just so they can take it back tomorrow."

Cranky Warren typically said more the more cranky he got. It was a thing.

[intraspective]

Well, now, that was a lot of interesting information.

"I don't like much, actually," Ino said, staring at him more seriously. "I like flowers, and weapons, and being busy, among other things. What am I saying to you that'd be takeable back tomorrow? Because, you know, you can't take back words. You can break them, and you can twist them, but you can't take them away like they never existed."

[peace_n_war]

"But you can take back trust," Warren said evenly, and then frowned, grabbed one of his fortune cookies, and crushed it. Mostly because he just had to crush something.

The fortune inside very pleasantly asked him Are you sure?

So he burned it and shoved the plate of cookies at Ino.

[intraspective]

"I don't," she said, taking a cookie dubiously and turning it over in her hands. "Thanks. But, yeah, I don't really care 'bout many people, but those I do, I don't give up on."

[peace_n_war]

"They should give you an award." Warren dusted the ashes off his hands and tried not to scowl too deeply. "Most people don't care nearly so much."

Sure they did. He just didn't care that they cared.

[intraspective]

"Call it self-defense," she told him, snapping the cookie in half. "Means I get to ignore what most people think 'bout me, and those who I pay attention to can't get rid of me."

Look behind you, the fortune read. And, so help her, but she couldn't just ignore that--Ino glanced dubiously over her shoulder, before looking back at him.

[peace_n_war]

"Keeping your enemies closer, huh?" He crossed his arms over his chest and gave his head a shake. "Well, all power to you, then. Just... don't touch me."

Hey, it was worth a shot.

[intraspective]

"Depends on how you define enemy," she mused. "My best friend back home hated my guts for years."

She nibbled on the cookie, considering what he'd said. "I won't," Ino said simply. "But you'll have to deal with me talking at you anyway."

[peace_n_war]

"Talking is fine," Warren replied after a moment or two to think it over. "I won't tell you not to talk."

Not like he could make her be quiet if he tried, right?

...

"Thanks."