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DAY 4 - MARTINAISE NORTH, 17:42
YOU - You can hardly believe it; can barely comprehend the power that you possess.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Of course you believe it, you’re a *superstar!* You hold power over *everyone.* The world is your bottle and you’re ready to gulp, baby!
COMPOSURE [Medium: Failure] - It’s impossible to suppress your giddy emotions, and you feel your lips contort into what must surely be the ugliest grin that the world has ever seen.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - Even though he rolls his eyes at you in an attempt to make it seem as if he thinks this is stupid, it’s obvious that the Lieutenant believes this to be a very funny joke.
INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Failure] - The matching jackets are surely a sign of your growing friendship, right? You’ll be running down the street and holding hands in no time.
LOGIC [Easy: Success] - It is not, it’s simply a sign that you are more persuasive than Kim is headstrong. In this particular matter, at least.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Enough dilly-dallying”, he says as he taps his foot against the concrete, looking out over the square as if he’d catch a clue out of thin air. “We have a case to finish.”
SUGGESTION [Challenging: Failure] - Tell him that he’s hot in that jacket, there’s no fooling that he is.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Formidable: Success] - Tell him that you want to invite him to your room with that on.
YOU - Stop! I don’t think *any* of that!
REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - You’ve been staring at him for quite a while now without saying anything. If you keep it up, saying those things will be less awkward than not saying anything at all.
YOU - “Pissf****t and Fuck the World, the best crime-fighting duo in all of Revachol!”
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - Kim glances up at you with his usual indifferent expression, but you still catch the little amused twinkle in his eye at your words.
KIM KITSURAGI - “We won’t be good unless we stop wasting time and actually go and try to solve the murder.”
DRAMA [Challenging: Failure] - There! In his eyes! Proof that he likes you!
LOGIC [Easy: Success] - Not quite, but it does mean that he doesn’t completely hate your guts, at least.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Formidable: Success] - Tell him that he looks hot in that jacket.
YOU - Before you have time to bite your tongue, you do. You actually do say that he looks hot in that jacket.
COMPOSURE [Heroic: Failure] - You immediately try to laugh it off, yet your darting eyes are proof that you didn’t mean for that to slip out, and the thing you’re doing with your hands really makes it look like you meant it.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Trivial: Success] - Kim stands perfectly still, his emotions carefully tucked away in favour of not letting anything show. But he stands just a slightly bit *too still* for the statement to not have affected him.
LOGIC - He’s heard you say things that are a hundred times worse than this, so he’ll most likely forget about it soon.
INLAND EMPIRE - Or perhaps he’s wondering if you’re hitting on him, and now he’s trying to formulate how to turn you down?
COMPOSURE [Challenging: Failure] - You try to stop your hands from gesticulating in that extremely non-discreet way, but you can’t. Now you have to look at the Lieutenant with sheepish eyes and blatantly nervous fingers.
YOU - “I just meant that, you know, the jacket looks cool and all.” You wipe a drop of sweat from your forehead, before immediately continuing with the awkward hand gestures. “And like-”
KIM KITSURAGI - “There’s no need to explain yourself, officer.” He finally takes a step to the side and adjusts his glasses. “Let’s just go and hope that the people we interview find the jackets as ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ as you do.”
PAIN THRESHOLD - You weirded him out, and now you feel a pang in your chest as you see him walk ahead of you.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - He’s tired of you already! You should sneak away and drink booze until you can’t feel your heart anymore! It’s the only solution to this awful situation!
RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - No need, Kim’s nose is back in his notes. He’s already put this conversation behind him.
SAVOIR FAIRE [Formidable: Failure] - The jacket really accentuates Kim’s backside. Even his *lower* backside.
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Challenging: Failure] - Yeah, it’s a real piece of art. You should continue to look at it until you can paint the picture in your mind even with your eyes closed, then frame the picture in your head.
YOU - Shut up.
DAY 4 - DOLORIAN CHURCH OF HUMANITY IN MARTINAISE, 20:21
DOLORIAN CHURCH OF HUMANITY IN MARTINAISE - It’s a chilly winter night, and even though you’re standing inside together with the dancing speedfreaks, the giant hole in the window does little to shield the cold winds that flow through the building.
ENDURANCE [Challenging: Success] - Your very cool and sexy, but also very cold, leather jacket isn’t quite warm enough for weather like this. It’s a good thing you and the Lieutenant ran here, or else you would’ve shuddered from the cold like an aspen leaf.
EGG HEAD - “Are you ready for some… HARDCORE?”
YOU - You smile at Egg Head as he continues with the exact same beat as before his shout. Who could’ve thought that this little gang of freaks would grow on you like this?
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - Out of the corner of your eye, you barely notice something moving. It’s the Lieutenant’s foot, tapping ever so scantily against the wooden floor.
YOU - You turn your head to get a better look, but it’s immediately as if he never moved his foot at all, the way he suddenly stands still and stoic as always.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Trivial: Success] - He doesn’t want anyone to see that he enjoys this music. Do you remember when you found out that he listens to Speedfreaks FM? He’s embarrassed to be as bad as the delinquents.
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - Kim is cute in that regard; how he’s embarrassed whenever his carefully encapsulated feelings or interests are shown. How he immediately tries to hide it and pretend it never happened.
YOU - A small grin spreads across your face as you try to catch Kim’s gaze. “It’s good music, eh?”
KIM KITSURAGI - He raises one of his perfectly authoritative eyebrows slightly, but keeps his stoic expression apart from that. “It’s just noise with a beat”, he says. He quickly looks away, pretending to look at something else, but you know what he’s really doing.
INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - He’s thinking about the club when it’s truly finished, wondering if he could sneak in and enjoy the music in the shadows, or if he’s too old for that, now that he’s become grumpy and dislikes delinquents so much.
AUTHORITY [Challenging: Failure] - No, he’s trying to distance himself from this music because he thinks that he’s too good for this sort of crowd. You should tell him that he’s not.
RHETORIC - No.
YOU - Really? No? I don’t get anything more?
RHETORIC - No.
SHIVERS [Medium: Success] - By the outskirts of the city, a bunch of teenagers are laughing as they walk across snow-ridden cobblestones. They’re all tipsy, except for one boy whose father is an alcoholic. A woman watches them through a slit in the curtain, and thinks back to the time when she could still dance. She’s in a wheelchair now, but she’s not too bothered by it. As the teenagers disappear down the road, the woman wishes that every young person on the isola - nay, the world - will try to stay brave and sober when they have to do something that both frightens and excites them. She begins to hum a tune, and remembers the last time she danced.
SUGGESTION [Formidable: Success] - You should ask the Lieutenant to dance with you.
YOU - As so often, you feel the words making their way up your throat before you have time to stop them. “Do you want to dance?” You even flash him a toothy grin, one that perhaps is not quite as ugly as usual, seeing as you finally managed to remove *the expression* that’s been haunting your face this week.
KIM KITSURAGI - He either never let his eyebrow rest, or otherwise he raised it again, because when he looks at you he’s doing it with one eyebrow far into his forehead. “Sorry, what did you say?”
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Trivial: Success] - He heard you perfectly. He just wants to hear you say it again.
INLAND EMPIRE - Or maybe he doesn’t believe that you actually want to. Quickly, either say that it doesn’t mean anything at all, or that it means the world to you.
YOU - What? Which one should I say then?
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - That the only thing you want more than to dance with him is drugs, and you really *really* want drugs.
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - Dancing is something that humans have partaken in since the day we evolved into conscious beings. It doesn’t have to mean anything at all to invite someone to a dance, seeing as it’s a normal action that is intrinsic to human nature.
SUGGESTION [Heroic: Failure] - Having sex is also intrinsic to human nature. You want to dance as a mating call.
YOU - How is it a mating call when we’re both men who like women? It doesn’t work like that.
RHETORIC - Has Kim really told you that he’s attracted to the female sex?
YOU - Well, no? Maybe? It’s… hm.
REACTION SPEED [Trivial: Success] - Now you’ve asked him for a dance, and have then been zoned out as you’ve looked into his eyes for almost an entire minute.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Trivial: Success] - Kim is shifting under your gaze now. He’s obviously growing very uncomfortable.
YOU - “Dancing isn’t just for mating”, you say, like a psychopath. “It’s intrinsic to human nature, just like mating, but can also be, like… casual?”
VOLITION - What the hell was that?!
- 1 MORALE.
KIM KITSURAGI - Kim blinks slowly. “Why are you speaking of ‘mating’ immediately after asking me to dance to speedfreak music with you?”
HALF LIGHT [Formidable: Success] - RUN! RUN AWAY! HIDE IN A DUMPSTER AND NEVER SHOW YOUR FACE AGAIN! BECOME A HOBOCOP, ANYTHING!
EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - He thinks you’re a little strange, but he’s thought that since day 1. If anything, this only makes him intrigued as to what is going on in your head when you blurt out stuff like this.
YOU - “I’m just saying that dancing isn’t weird. We can dance, without-”
VOLITION [Trivial: Success] - Do *not* say mating one more fucking time!
YOU - “Without… anything strange happening.”
KIM KITSURAGI - “Is that so?” The corner of his lip twitches ever so slightly. “What ‘strange’ thing is it that wouldn’t happen, then?”
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Trivial: Success] - He’s teasing you.
VOLITION - And you deserve it.
YOU - You can’t stop your hands from changing their grip on your tools nervously, even though you know that you’re speaking to an observant officer of the RCM who will definitely catch that. “Nothing”, you mumble, a bit defeated. “Let’s go talk to Soona.”
KIM KITSURAGI - As you walk past him with your tail between your legs, you notice the faintest of grins on his lips.
DAY 4 - WHIRLING-IN-RAGS, 23:23
SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - “Hello again, gendarme. How are things?”
EMPATHY [Impossible: Failure] - There’s no doubt about the fact that there’s something about this man that you just can’t discern. It’s something about how he acts that not even you can understand.
YOU - You squint slightly as you try, for perhaps the sixth time, to really try and figure out what it is about the way that he carries himself that’s so different from everyone else.
COMPOSURE [Legendary: Success] - It might be possible that he’s a part of the so-called *homosexual underground*.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - Sex? I’m in! You should ask more, see if you can get a foot in somewhere. Or a cock.
YOU - You draw a hand through your hair without thinking, perhaps wanting to impress this man for some reason? “Is it perhaps so that you’re… a homosexual?” You lower your voice as you say the last bit, as if it were a curse that would doom everyone in the building if someone were to hear you say it.
SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - He laughs, suddenly, and throws his head back slightly in a way that shows off his long neck and defined Adam's apple. “Why yes, I am, detective. Now will you arrest me for not following the traditional household norms?”
CONCEPTUALIZATION - He’s beautiful; so very alive and pretty. You could watch him forever.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Formidable: Success] - In your peripheral view, Kim is crossing his arms and looking away in a way that doesn’t seem as carefree as usual.
INLAND EMPIRE - Is he jealous?
LOGIC [Heroic: Failure] - No, not a chance. He’s probably just feeling awkward about you outright questioning a citizen about their sexuality.
YOU - “Do you think that… that *I* might be a part of this secret underground club?”
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Now we’re talking! Good boy!
SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - He’s still chuckling at you, but it’s not an evil laugh. He’s just amused that a detective is asking him if he’s a homosexual. “You could be”, he says in a soft tone. “You’ve got that…” He draws circles with his hand around your head so that cigarette smoke shields him from you for a moment. “That gruff appearance of someone hiding their true self.”
AUTHORITY [Challenging: Success] - Hiding their true self? No, you know exactly who you are, and it’s *not* someone who puts his dick where nature didn’t intend it to!
LOGIC [Easy: Success] - Nature didn’t intend for anything, and the only place you shouldn’t put your dick is where it could either be crushed, or where someone else doesn’t want it.
YOU - “I’ve lost all my memory recently, so I’m not quite sure what my true self is.”
SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - “Ah.” He takes a long drag of his cigarette, then blows the smoke in your face. You don’t know why, but you want to breathe it in, as if a part of him is within you if you do. “Then maybe you’re hidden even from yourself.”
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Heroic: Success] - Ask him upstairs! Invite him to your room! Beg him to let you snort a line off his wonderful chest!
YOU - “Thank you for the talk. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - He smiles at you, a mixture of kindness and amusement, and he nods as you begin to leave. “Anytime, gendarme.”
KIM KITSURAGI - “Seeing as we’re not in bed yet, I suppose that this conversation was meaningful in light of solving the case?”
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Trivial: Success] - He’s trying to sound jokingly reprimanding, but there’s something in his tone that proves that he’s got feelings about the discussion.
LOGIC [Medium: Failure] - Boredom.
PERCEPTION [Challenging: Failure] - Tiredness.
EMPATHY [Godly: Success] - Jealousy.
YOU - No way, he’s not jealous at all. What would he be jealous of?
INLAND EMPIRE - The Smoker on the Balcony seemed to almost be flirting with you. Perhaps he wanted him to flirt with *him*.
RHETORIC [Challenging: Failure] - Yes, perhaps *he* wants to join the homosexual club and fall into bed with that fine young man?
GAINED THOUGHT: HOMOSEXUAL UNDERGROUND.
YOU - With a solemn nod, you follow Kim as you make your way upstairs to your respective rooms. Even before Kim tells you goodnight, you begin to think about this homosexualism that you’ve discovered.
DAY 5 - WHIRLING-IN-RAGS, 07:35
THOUGHT COMPLETE: HOMOSEXUAL UNDERGROUND.
SOLUTION - Stopped obsessing over sexualities.
YOU - Wait, what? That’s it? No bonuses? No insights?
RHETORIC - Perhaps it’s a reasonable solution? After all, thinking about sexualities won’t help you solve the case.
YOU - But what if these homosexuals decide to overthrow traditional values as we know them?
LOGIC [Trivial: Success] - They won’t.
YOU - How do you know?
SHIVERS [Legendary: Success] - It’s morning. The city is cold but pretty as the snow that fell during the night lay atop the cracking asphalt visible from the safety and warmth behind the windows. In a cottage by the outskirts of town, too small for such a large family, a mother feeds two hungry babies that eagerly chew at her breasts. The father just experienced his third sleepless night in a row, yet he still lays out breakfast for their other four kids that are fighting around the table. He smiles, though it is exasperated.
YOU - Alright, I get it. People will still have kids even if *some* decide to join this underground club of homosexuals.
WHIRLING-IN-RAGS - The usual clientéle meets you downstairs, including the man with sunglasses and the horse-faced-woman that you’re *sure* are keeping something from you.
LOGIC [Impossible: Failure] - Perhaps they are also a part of the homosexual underground?
VOLITION - You’re not very good at not obsessing over sexualities.
KIM KITSURAGI - He nods at you as you approach each other. “Goodmorning, detective”, he greets. He was engrossed in his notebook before he spotted you, but now he holds his hands behind his back as he looks you over.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Trivial: Success] - Kim’s eyebrows furrow just the tiniest of amounts as he inspects you. There’s something different about you that he’s noticing.
VISUAL CALCULUS [Formidable: Success] - While he probably can’t read your thoughts, it’s possible that your own expression shows signs of how you’re trying to put people into boxes based on sexuality.
YOU - I don’t do that!
VOLITION - You do.
YOU - “Hey, Kim!” You greet him.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Yes?”
YOU - “I have big news to tell you!” You smile at him and he leans his head to the side, urging you to continue. “I’ve stopped obsessing over my sexuality!”
KIM KITSURAGI - He doesn’t let any part of his expression change as he nods once. “Okay.”
AUTHORITY [Trivial: Success] - Perhaps he didn’t hear you? You should repeat your words.
YOU - “I don’t care about sexualities anymore, Kim!” You say, a little bit louder this time. This makes him look around briefly, perhaps wondering if anyone would hear.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Good. Now, can you instead care about the case? We really need to solve it soon.”
AUTHORITY [Challenging: Success] - He thinks that he’s better than you, all high and mighty and above trivial matters like *feelings*.
INLAND EMPIRE [Trivial: Success] - Or maybe he’s already gone through this line of thought himself? He did act a bit weird during the conversation with the Smoker on the Balcony, after all.
YOU - You try to look for similarities between the young man and Kim, but you’re unsure if you see anything. “Kim?” You ask. “Are… are *you* a part of the homosexual underground?”
KIM KITSURAGI - Kim raises one of his authoritative eyebrows again.
EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - He’s judging you slightly.
KIM KITSURAGI - “You didn’t stop obsessing in the least. You’ve just shifted your focus from your own sexuality to other’s now, haven’t you?”
INLAND EMPIRE - Busted.
KIM KITSURAGI - He rolls his eyes and begins to walk out of the cafeteria. As he opens the front door with glove-clad hands, he turns to you. “I am, by the way. And I only tell you so that you’ll really stop obsessing this time.” Then he draws the Pissf****t jacket closer around himself and gestures for you to leave.
DRAMA [Medium: Success] - He’s speaking the truth.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Legendary: Success] - Hang on just a minute here! Are you telling me that *that* sexy piece of backside is into *men*? *You’re* a man!
LOGIC [Easy: Success] - Just because he’s attracted to men doesn’t mean that he’s attracted to *you*.
VOLITION [Formidable: Failure] - Especially not when you look like… well, like you do. You don’t have a chance with him. At all.
- 1 MORALE.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Detective? We have a case to solve and you’re just standing in this doorway, staring at me.”
EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - He’s slightly weirded out by your staring but mostly finds it a bit funny.
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Challenging: Success] - You’ve always known this man to be handsome, beautiful even, and you’ve always described him mentally as such. There’s no difference in his appearance, only your own understanding of your feelings towards it.
AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - Hell no, brother! You’re no homosexual; look at you! You’re the epitome of manliness!
REACTION SPEED [Trivial: Success] - It doesn’t matter if you’re a little girl or a mountain of muscles because YOU HAVE TO MOVE NOW!
SHIVERS [Formidable: Success] - A small apartment faces the waterfront not far from your position. The room is cold, but the ones inside don’t mind. It gives them an excuse to hug each other closer, electric sparks running through their bodies in the places their skin touches. One is a man, the other is too. They’re not quite awake, their days don’t usually start until long past the morning is over. One strokes the other’s hair, and breathes in the smell. It calms him enough to fall right back asleep.
DAY 5 - WHIRLING-IN-RAGS, 23:04
YOU - “No, Kim, I won’t let you sleep just yet.” You’re busy putting on every dramatic piece of clothing you own, and you’re not satisfied until you’re sure that you’ll have the best shot at this.
KIM KITSURAGI - He shakes his head at your appearance. “You should be glad that I’m forty and well past the time when I’d be too embarrassed to even be seen standing beside you.”
YOU - “It’s to make sure I don’t fuck it up, Kim.” You see your reflection in a passing window and whistle at yourself. You look ridiculous in your clothes; a back mesh top, a bow around your neck, and the Party Dragon's Silk Robe that you took from the Smoker on the Balcony’s wardrobe. That’s really all that you *need* to wear, but you choose to also wear your moralist pants and the amphibian sports visor. Because you can.
KIM KITSURAGI - “I don’t see how dressing up as…” he puts his head to the side and looks at you, then shakes his head. “Actually, I don’t know what you’re dressed as, but I really don’t understand how that will help you sing better.”
YOU - You decide against explaining to him that all dramatic clothes will put you *in the zone* so that you’ll concentrate better, because going into the details of how different clothes make you better in certain situations would probably require a few hours, at least.
YOU - “Just don’t walk up to your room yet”, you tell the Lieutenant as you waltz up to Garte, who doesn’t even seem surprised to see that you’re wearing something that would make a supermodel puke. “Hey, Garte, it’s karaoke time.”
GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER - “Oh, no.” He hides his face in his hands, then wastes a few minutes of your time by trying to prevent you from singing. But you can’t be stopped, and he should know as much.
DRAMA [Formidable: Success] - Would you do me the honours?
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - Oh, why thank you. I just might.
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - “I would often go there [...]”
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - “[...] But now you are alone. None of this matters at all.”
YOU - The applause is surprisingly enthusiastic when the song ends, and you open your eyes and realise that you didn’t really look at the cafeteria when you sang. You were dreaming; of that church in Saint-Saëns. But now you’re back in reality, and when you see Kim in the front row, looking at you with an unintelligible expression, you can’t help yourself.
YOU - “I dedicate this song to my one and only partner, the best one ever, Kim Kitsuragi!”
COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - He's incapable of blushing, but if that wasn't the case, he'd blush because of that dedication.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Legendary: Failure] - There’s absolutely no way to tell what he thinks about your singing, though. But the man with the long blonde hair and sunglasses is easy to tell. He’s mad as hell, ever since you dedicated your song to the Lieutenant.
YOU - “Well?” You ask Kim when he still hasn’t said anything after a while. “What’d you think?”
KIM KITSURAGI - He’s still looking at you weirdly, not quite happy but not quite not, either. Then he looks up at the ceiling briefly, as if searching for the right words among the poles holding the building together. “It was… not bad”, he finally manages.
COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - You quell the desire to throw your arms around him in happiness, but there’s nothing to do against the huge grin that finds its way onto your lips.
YOU - “Thanks! Although it wasn’t really me who sang, it was my ancient reptilian brain.”
KIM KITSURAGI - Kim narrows his eyes at you, before he releases his breath in a way that sounds suspiciously close to a laugh. “I... think it was still you who sang. I didn’t see any reptiles."
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Legendary: Failure] - There’s something he’s not telling you, but you just can’t put your finger on it. He’s looking at you slightly differently than he did before, but why?
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Challenging: Failure] - You were awful at singing, and now he’s sad that you’ve disgraced the art of music.
AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - You’ve embarrassed both yourself and him by wearing those clothes, no matter what he told you before.
REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - Hey, both you and the Lieutenant have been looking at each other for a good minute without saying something now. Usually, this is normal for *you*, but it’s rare that you do this dance *together*.
YOU - “Was it really so horrible that I stunned you?”
KIM KITSURAGI - “No, no, not at all, I just… have to sleep.” He avoids your gaze as he nods at himself, then says a quick “goodbye” before disappearing up the stairs.
AUTHORITY - You made a fool of yourself, and now you’ll have to deal with it!
DRAMA [Formidable: Failure] - Maybe he really was tired? It’s been a long day.
YOU - I don’t know, but I suppose that I’ll hit the sack, too.
YOU - It’s with heavy and disappointed footsteps that you walk into your own room and fall down with a loud grunt on the uncomfortable bed. This is going to be a long night.
DAY 6 - WHIRLING-IN-RAGS, 01:18
YOU - You cannot sleep. You’ve tossed and turned and punched your pillow for almost two hours to no avail.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - You should go and order some booze, without its numbness you’ll never fall asleep.
LOGIC [Challenging: Failure] - By drinking, your thoughts won’t disturb you any longer. You’ll be free.
EMPATHY - Kim would be extremely disappointed if you were hungover tomorrow. Or worse yet; still drunk.
VOLITION [Heroic: Failure] - He’s got no reason *not* to be disappointed in you. It’s probably what he’s expecting of you anyway.
AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - Why do you even care so damn much about what the Lieutenant wants? Man up and make your own fucking decisions!
CONCEPTUALIZATION - But imagine how painful it would be to see that beautiful forehead crease *because of you*.
YOU - Shut up! All of you! I *will* make my own damn decisions, I don’t care about Kim’s opinion of me.
DRAMA - Liar.
YOU - With a sigh, you sit up in the uncomfortable bed that you can still call your own for at least a little while longer. Your thoughts continue to spiral, each one contradicting the next. You’re painfully aware that drinking would indeed make Kim disappointed in you, but on the other hand he would also be mad if you were tired enough that you couldn’t do your job. Heavy drinking can at least help you sleep.
PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - As you walk into your bathroom to find some of your clothes that are sprawled everywhere, you hear something from the adjacent room.
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Challenging: Success] - It’s the unmistakable sound of speedfreak music. It’s on low volume, yet it’s enough for you to recognize the beat though the door.
LOGIC [Trivial: Success] - Kim is listening to speedfreak in his room. Perhaps it’s Speedfreaks FM? You remember that he did have that radio station memorized.
YOU - You stand still in your bathroom. You stand there for quite a while, actually. Unmoving.
REACTION SPEED [Trivial: Success] - You should knock on his door, see if he’s awake. Or, you can walk downstairs and drink booze. Anything, as long as you don’t just stand here any longer!
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - *Booze!* BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE!
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Challenging: Success] - You haven’t heard him listen to music in his room before. It’s possible that he’s not able to sleep as well. But in that case, it means that he lied to you when he ran away from you after your karaoke.
DRAMA [Legendary: Failure] - He might not want you to come.
EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - But he might want you to.
YOU - You hesitate for quite a while, and draw in a few breaths. After an eternity, you finally decide to knock.
PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Trivial: Success] - You hear some shuffling on the other side of the door, as if Kim is springing up and wondering whether or not he imagined the knocks.
YOU - “Kim?” You call, so that he understands that it’s not his main door that someone’s knocking on.
SUGGESTION [Challenging: Failure] - Why the hell did you knock on the *bathroom* door like a total weirdo? You should’ve gone to his main door!
KIM KITSURAGI - “Detective?” His voice is slightly muffled by the door, and after some more shuffling, the faint sound of the music is turned off. “Is something the matter?”
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Challenging: Success] - Yes, the matter is that you’re *sober*! Go away and drink, now!
REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - Quickly, say something that doesn’t make you sound like a pathetic alcoholic!
YOU - “I, uh, can’t seem to sleep.” Good enough.
KIM KITSURAGI - There’s more shuffling behind the door, closer now. When he speaks, it’s from right behind the piece of wood that’s separating you. “I seem to have the same problem.” Then there's silence.
EMPATHY [Legendary: Failure] - He thinks you’re weird. Who the fuck starts speaking to their colleague from their bathroom?
YOU - “Right. Uh… Sorry I bothered you.” You wring your hands together in nervousness.
AUTHORITY - Why the hell did you decide to speak to him? You should’ve just gone downstairs and gotten drunk! Then you wouldn’t have to stand here and feel nervous like a wimp!
PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Trivial: Success] - Something’s pressing against the door now, as if Kim has grabbed a hold of the handle.
KIM KITSURAGI - “You have nothing to apologise for.” Another silence, but shorter this time. “Do you… would you like to come inside?”
YOU - “I am inside.”
KIM KITSURAGI - He snorts loudly enough that you hear it through the wood. “I meant inside my room.”
DRAMA [Challenging: Failure] - He’s just offering to be kind, he doesn’t really want you to come.
EMPATHY [Formidable: Success] - Kim is pragmatic; if he didn’t want you to enter his room, he wouldn’t have asked.
KIM KITSURAGI - Before you have time to reply, the lock is turned from the outside, although the door is still unopened. He wants you to choose whether to enter or not.
YOU - You do.
GUEST ROOM #2 - Kim’s room is smaller than yours, but it’s about a million times more cozy. His belongings are strewn over the few pieces of furniture inside, although not at all in the messy way that you throw your things around you. There’s papers neatly folded atop the desk and a few books on the floor.
KIM KITSURAGI - He stands a metre in front of you, his eyes tired with the earliest traces of dark circles beneath them. He’s dressed in a pair of knee-lenght shorts and a t-shirt, with his hands behind his straightened back in a way that makes him look authoritative even in this casual setting.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Trivial: Success] - His upper arms are more defined than you’ve imagined; the amount of muscles are usually hidden well beneath his jacket as well as the Pissf****t one. His chest is concealed by the white t-shirt, but as he breathes you can barely make out two nipples move below the printed picture of a small cow. His legs are thin and pale, yet his calves look strong and durable, perhaps more so now that you’ve been running around the town for six days.
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Formidable: Success] - Oh, praise Dolores Dei! You’re standing before one of the most perfect-looking humans that you’ve ever laid eyes on. You know this in your core, no matter that you don’t remember any faces from before a week ago. Kim’s tired yet stoic posture unveils his imperfections in a way that *makes him* perfect.
COMPOSURE [Challenging: Success] - You swallow quietly as you try to regain your *own* posture, and force yourself to look up at his face again.
KIM KITSURAGI - He’s studying you. His eyes flicker along your face, meaning that he definitely noticed you checking out his entire body.
DRAMA - Perhaps he checked you out too, when you looked at him.
VOLITION - If he did, it means that he’s seen you stand at his doorstep in nothing but a greasy tank top and underpants.
YOU - Wait, what?
SAVOIR FAIRE [Trivial: Success] - Yeah. That’s what you’re wearing.
KIM KITSURAGI - “How are you feeling?” Kim asks, keeping his gaze locked at your face, his eyes not darting down your body for even a split second.
EMPATHY [Heroic: Success] - Now that he’s told you that he’s attracted to men, he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable by looking at you in a way that could make you believe that he’s attracted to *you*.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Challenging: Success] - He’s used to this being a problem. He doesn’t want to be, but he is.
YOU - “You can look at me, you know”, you say like a weird person.
KIM KITSURAGI - He raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean? I am looking at you.”
EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - He knows what you meant, he just doesn’t want to acknowledge the matter. Best to ignore it.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Formidable: Success] - Come on, this is *boring*! Go downstairs and order some booze or find a lady - or man, since that’s suddenly on the table, I don’t judge - to snort a line off, NOW!
YOU - “I want to drink.” It’s a simple sentence, containing only four syllables. Yet, it makes your heart beat quicker than if you were to get chased by someone; it leaves your insides open in a way that your body immediately regrets.
HALF LIGHT [Formidable: Success] - RUN! RUN AWAY, CLOSE THE DOOR AND DON’T LOOK BACK! THIS ISN’T WORTH IT!
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - No, seeing Kim stand there in socks is worth every heartbeat in the world. It feels weirdly intimate, almost pornographical, to see his sock-clad feet without shoes. The line where the socks end upon his hairy calves is somehow more attractive than any cleavage you’ve ever seen.
AUTHORITY [Godly: Failure] - You want to lick it.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Oh.” Kim’s shoulders relax slightly, and a brief look of empathy passes over his features as he takes in the meaning of your words.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Formidable: Success] - He’s not pitying you.
KIM KITSURAGI - “And… have you?” He lets his head fall to the side slightly, his stiff demeanour slowly giving way to something just a tiny bit more inviting.
YOU - “No. I was about to when I heard your music.” You spot the radio placed on top of a pile of papers on the desk and nod towards it. “Don’t keep it turned off for my sake.”
KIM KITSURAGI - He shifts for a moment, probably deciding between admitting that he listens to what he’d just the other day described as ‘noise with a beat’ or not. He sighs, then glances at the radio. After glancing at you once more, he finally breaks his stoic facade enough to walk over and turn the radio on again.
GUEST ROOM #2 - Up-beat music flows through the room at low volume, the song not quite as hardcore as the one Egg Head mixed, but it’s a close call. You can almost hear him yell “HARDCORE” as the beat speeds up slightly.
INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Failure] - Kim is glad to find a distraction from you, you problematic half-naked alcoholic.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - ALCOHOL? HELL YES, GO AND CONSUME THEM *NOW*!
YOU - When Kim looks back at you, you wave clumsily towards your head. “They’re telling me to go drink right now.”
AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - Why are you telling him this? He doesn’t want to know about the voices in your head! It makes you look weak, like a puppet on a string.
KIM KITSURAGI - His eyes are kind when you meet his gaze again, and now that he’s no longer tense as a knife you notice how truly tired he looks. Yet, you don’t get the impression that he’s tired of *you*. He doesn’t ask who ‘they’ are, he just nods once at you. “I’m glad.”
YOU - You blink. “What?”
KIM KITSURAGI - He narrows his eyes at you, as if wondering if you just want him to repeat it because you want to hear it again. “You heard me”, he decides. “My door is always open for such matters.”
EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - He means it.
PAIN THRESHOLD [Challenging: Failure] - Your back hurts after an entire day of running, and the cold air that blows straight into your room from the broken window makes your back stiff, which accentuates the pain.
YOU - You let out a groan, which makes Kim nod towards his bed.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Please, take a seat. We’ve been running around like we’re twenty rather than forty. It’s exhausting.”
YOU - “Then you should be tired, too. Which you are”, you add, and can’t help the once-over of him that you do again.
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Formidable: Success] - D O L O R E S D E I !
COMPOSURE [Impossible: Failure] - You feel your cheeks grow warm at the marvellous sight, and thank Dolores Dei that you still have your beard to hide your flushed skin behind as you accept the offer and sit down by the end of the bed.
PERCEPTION (SMELL) [Easy: Success] - As you sit down, a gust of wind blows into your nose, and you realise with a sinking feeling that you stink. Quite bad. Did you only wash yourself *once* since you woke up on Monday?
VOLITION [Legendary: Failure] - That’s disgusting.
- 1 MORALE.
KIM KITSURAGI - He’s still not looking at you entirely, and now that your legs are even closer to your face, it’s almost as if he’s looking at your forehead when he speaks to you. “I can stand. It makes me more tired so it's easier to try and sleep later.”
YOU - You shrug. “Whatever you say, man.” The sound of the radio keeps the room from falling into an awkward silence, and you try to nod along to the quick beat, but it’s too hard. “Honestly, Kim”, you say. “Just *how* did you manage to get a music taste like this?”
KIM KITSURAGI - He rolls his eyes at you and takes a step towards the radio as if to turn it off again.
YOU - “No, stop.” A faint smile finds its way to your lips. Now that *the expression* is gone, you feel your mouth twist and turn in all sorts of horrible ways. “I’m just fucking with you.”
KIM KITSURAGI - His mouth is more in control than yours, so while he doesn’t even nearly smile at you, he does raise his eyebrow and gives you a look that’s definitely not closer to angry at least.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Legendary: Failure] - He’s such a fucking bore. Just fuck him already or something, this is so *bland*!
SUGGESTION [Medium: Failure] - No, tell him that you haven’t showered in at least two days, that’s a conversation starter if any!
YOU - “Your sheets smell good.”
VOLITION - Why the hell did you say THAT!?
RHETORIC - It’s better than admitting that you smell like a hobo; he probably knows that already anyway.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Yes, they tend to do that when they aren’t covered in puke and blood.” It’s his dryest voice, and even though he’s obviously judging you, it makes you feel good when he teases you. “And I don’t wear clothes I find on the street when I go to sleep.”
VOLITION - Yeah, you’re wearing the white tank top you found on the street.
YOU - “It adds character!”
KIM KITSURAGI - He lets out a snort and shakes his head. This time he actually lets the corner of his mouth turn upwards slightly. “That it does.” Then, his expression changes, and he removes his glasses with a sigh and begins to clean them with one of those special cloths that are especially meant for that purpose. You wonder if anyone except him ever cleans their glasses with those, rather than just hastily doing it with their shirts.
KIM KITSURAGI - When he speaks, it’s in a low and serious tone. “We’re not on the clock anymore, and while I dislike the thought of you drinking, it’s your choice.” He looks you in the eyes even though his glasses are still in his hands. He looks strange without them on, but cute. “Do you wish to stay sober? Because some of the things you’ve said to the people we’ve interviewed doesn’t really give me that impression.”
DRAMA - You’re a superstar cop, of course you have to say that you drink, it comes with the job!
COMPOSURE [Challenging: Failure] - You look at your hands as you play with them, because suddenly Kim’s honest eyes are just too much for you.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Don’t say it, Harry-boy!
YOU - “Yes”, is all that you manage. Actually, you’re not even sure that you managed *that*, since it probably sounded more like an exhale than anything else. After a while without a reaction, you look up again.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Alright. Then I’ll make sure to distract you from it.”
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Heroic: Success] - *He* can be your distraction, baby, look at him!
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - Even now, when you’ve looked at him for a while, you’re still not used to his beauty. He’s finishing up the cleaning of his glasses, and you marvel at how both soft and strong his long fingers look. You’re well aware that they’re a trap; they seem delicate, but they can easily punch the air out of your lungs or strangle you just as easily.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - *Now* you’re starting to talk! But forget about the beauty part; that man is *hot*. Just look at his calves, he’s starting to seem intriguing even to me!
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Challenging: Success] - You’re tired, exhausted even, and now you’re looking at a man that’s one million percent out of your league. I don’t have to tell you what’s about to happen beneath your underpants.
HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - Okay, perhaps you didn’t have to run before, BUT NOW YOU REALLY DO, RUN!
DRAMA [Challenging: Failure] - You pretend to yawn as you stumble out of the too-good-smelling bed, and quickly run to hide behind the door that leads between your rooms.
YOU - “Suddenly I’m really tired, so, uh, thanks for the chat! I won’t have to drink now, goodnight.” And before the Lieutenant has time to blink and much less answer, you’ve closed the door again, and leaned against the sink.
MIRROR - What are you even doing, you pathetic excuse of a man?
DAY 6 - LAND’S END, 14:17
YOU - “That was really beautiful”, you tell Lilienne as you look out across the water. She just uttered words of the kind sun that keeps blessing you with its warmth, no matter if you’re deserving of it or not. You’re not quite on a date, and for once you don’t really want to be on one. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see her glance at you with a smile on her face. It’s not an inviting smile, and that’s absolutely fine by you.
COMPOSURE - Strange. You’re not usually this cool when women turn you down.
LILIENNE, THE NET PICKER - “Thank you”, she says. When you turn to meet her gaze, she takes your place of looking out onto the water, inspecting the small waves that meet the reeves. Then, she turns to you, and the smile turns into more of a grin. “I actually enjoyed this little walk, and I find it cute that you brought your friend.” She nods towards Kim, who’s never pretended to care so much about his notebook before.
YOU - “He’s my partner. I don’t want him to feel left out.”
LILIENNE, THE NET PICKER - She laughs at that, and when the laughter subsides into chuckles, she leans closer to you. “Treat him well”, she whispers. “I doubt he’s as carefree as he seems.” After shooting you one last glance, she turns to leave. “Take care, Kim!”
KIM KITSURAGI - “You too, ma’am.”
INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Failure] - ‘Take care of him’? That’s impossible, you can’t even take care of the shit stuck to the bottom of your shoe most of the time.
YOU - You check under the shoe, and while the sole definitely isn’t clean, there’s no shit stuck to it. Not that you think, anyway.
LOGIC - It’s a hypothetical shit. Now stop standing on one leg and go talk to your partner!
KIM KITSURAGI - “Are you ready to solve the case now, detective?” He puts away his notebook and looks at you with an extremely bored expression.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Formidable: Success] - He’s *definitely* not bored, but not entertained either. He actually seems kind of mad.
DRAMA [Medium: Success] - There’s a dark cloud surrounding him. Take it easy.
YOU - “Born ready.” You flash him a toothy smile, but simply get a curt nod in response. “What’s up?”
DRAMA - Careful now.
KIM KITSURAGI - “The sky, the sun. A couple of birds.” You glance at him, intending to stick out your tongue at him or something equally mature, but he’s not returning your gaze. He’s looking down at the ground, with a crease on his forehead. Something’s definitely bothering him.
INLAND EMPIRE [Legendary: Success] - You just went on a date with a beautiful and smart woman. It’s possible that he’s jealous.
LOGIC [Easy: Success] - We now know that Kim is a part of the homosexual underground, so while he still *can* be jealous of the company, it’s very unlikely.
RHETORIC [Trivial: Success] - Perhaps it’s not *her* that he’s jealous of.
VOLITION - He’s not jealous of you just because he’s attracted to men, that’s just your enlarged ego speaking.
RHETORIC - Hey, I’m just theorizing here!
YOU - “Good”, you say in a light tone, trying to keep the mood up. “Here I thought something was up with you, but you can’t be feeling too bad if you’re able to be sardonic with me.”
KIM KITSURAGI - “Mmhm.”
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - Oh, he’s *mad* mad. Perhaps it’s got something to do with yesterday?
YOU - “Sorry about yesterday”, you say, because what else are you supposed to talk about? The birds? “I was suddenly tired enough that I almost fell asleep on your bed.”
KIM KITSURAGI - “Were you now?”
DRAMA [Medium: Success] - He doesn’t believe you.
YOU - You follow his example and look down at your shoes as you walk over the frozen sand. The dolorian church towers above you when you get closer to the grass. Through the broken glass panel you can hear the neverending beat of anodic dance music, but right now you really don’t feel inclined to dance.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Make him walk in front of you so that you at least can look at his ass!
LOGIC - Really? Now?
KIM KITSURAGI - He surprises you suddenly when the smell of smoke makes you turn to look at him. He’s smoking a cigarette, even though it’s barely even noon. He doesn’t meet your gaze.
YOU - “Okay, now you *have* to tell me what’s up.”
KIM KITSURAGI - Kim shrugs. “It’s just been one of those days.”
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - He’s being evasive. Try to poke at him a little more.
YOU - “Has it? I think it’s been rather calm.”
KIM KITSURAGI - He just shakes his head and takes a long drag of the cigarette.
INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success] ‘It’s very calm’, he thinks, ‘when you’re on a date with a lady that’s currently so out of your league that she might as well live in a different dimension.’
YOU - “Kim”, you say, and dig your heels into place near the telephone by the pier, which forces Kim to stop before you. He rolls his eyes at you. “Kim”, you repeat, and try to look into his eyes. “Are you jealous?”
KIM KITSURAGI - He snorts, and when he meets your gaze, the expression he wears is his coldest yet. “You know what?” He says, and throws his hands in the air. The cig is already finished. “Fine, let’s do it *your* way!”
COMPOSURE [Godly: Failure] - You squirm slightly at the anger in his voice, and you immediately regret that you nagged at him so much.
EMPATHY - The can opener, opening cans again.
KIM KITSURAGI - He speaks quickly, in a tone that reveals that he’s definitely not his usual calm right now. “My ankle is sprained from running on all of your side-missions all week, I’m worried we won’t solve the case until it’s too late, and now you make me watch as you go on dates?”
LOGIC - *One* date!
YOU - You open your mouth to speak, but decide against it.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Formidable: Success] - He’s obviously furious now, but, since it’s still Kim, it’s really only visible when you’re aware of the little details. Like how his jaw is more set than usual, or the way his eyebrows are slightly more creased than normally. You’re rightfully petrified, but to a stranger he barely even looks angry, and that makes him even scarier.
KIM KITSURAGI - He’s grinding his teeth together now. It’s barely visible, but his jaw is moving enough that it’s just noticeable. “It usually doesn’t bother me”, he says, and now his voice is much lower than before, though his anger hasn’t quite subsided. “But it’s demanding to always adhere to the unspoken rules.”
YOU - You frown at that. What’s he speaking about now?
EMPATHY [Godly: Failure] - I don’t know, sire. Maybe it’s something about police work?
HALF LIGHT - He’s absolutely terrifying when he’s angry.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Yeah. Why is it kind of hot?
COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - Kim’s hands begin to tremble slightly, and you manage to fight the urge to step forward and hold them in your own large hands.
KIM KITSURAGI - “I shouldn’t complain because they have worries of their own, but it’s so much easier for women. They can look wherever they…” He draws in a deep breath, and some of his composure is regained. He doesn’t finish the sentence.
LOGIC [Challenging: Success] - Women? This has to do something about relationships, surely.
EMPATHY [Heroic: Failure] - He really wants you to touch him.
YOU - You close the space between you, and lay a hand on the Lieutenant's back. Pats and rubs feel a bit too childish, so you just keep your hand there. But Kim quickly shakes it off.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Damn it, officer.” He sighs, then tilts his head back and closes his eyes. The sun shines upon him, lighting up his skin. The sun is never biased.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Heroic: Success] - Kim isn’t old, but he’s not young either. He’s lived on this isola for a long time, and he’s used to being treated in certain ways. You might have forgotten all about bigotry and preconceived notions, but he definitely hasn’t. He might logically be aware that your thoughts are unique, but not even Kim Kitsuragi can flush forty years of discrimination down the pipe.
YOU - Wait, what sort of bigotry?
LOGIC [Challenging: Success] - The one that makes it hard for a man to look freely at other men, or else those men might become angry.
YOU - Oh.
YOU - “Kim”, you say, softly, as if he’s a frightened cat that you don’t want to spook by being too aloof. He turns his head quickly towards you, as if you snapped him out of some kind of stupor.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Detective”, he says, then looks down at his hands before meeting your gaze with stoic eyes. “I didn’t mean to lose my self-control like that. It’s very unusual for me. I apologize.”
YOU - You shake your head. You’re standing close now, close enough that you see the pores on his face. His facial hair has grown a bit during the week, and you feel slightly mesmerised as you let your eyes trail along his cheekbones. There’s a few old scars lining his skin, and you suddenly have to fight the urge to reach out and touch them.
COMPOSURE [Easy: Success] - You manage to hold your hands to yourself, although you do have to play with your fingers to stop them from reaching out.
YOU - “Are… do you think I’d be weirded out by you?”
AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - What the hell was that cowardly question? It’s *good* if he’s uncomfortable around you because that means *you* are in power!
EMPATHY [Formidable: Success] - Kim glances up at you. He’s a little surprised that you figured out his issues so easily, but he’s also surprised that he’s surprised; he should be used to your investigative skills by now.
KIM KITSURAGI - Kim deflates slightly. How he manages to both shrink into himself and look proud simultaneously is beyond you. "You're right, it was prejudiced of me to assume that you'd take offence. I’m sorry."
SAVOIR FAIRE - Hang on, I think I’m lost here. What exactly is the Lieutenant apologizing for?
LOGIC - For thinking that you’d get uncomfortable by him looking at your body. Because he’s part of the homosexual underground. Some men get weirded out by that.
AUTHORITY [Easy: Success] - As they should! Why’d they be okay with a man sizing them up as if they’re some random chicks?
EMPATHY - The fact that this is in your mind, that this a thought that you’ve had, makes Kim’s worries pretty legitimate, don’t they?
SUGGESTION - You do say some traditional things now and then.
ESPRIT DE CORPS - And you probably remind him a little too much of ‘gymbrothers’.
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Challenging: Success] - A ‘gymbrother’ is a man whose sole personality revolves around gaining and maintaining muscle mass, whereas they’re often known to have extremely fragile egos and old-school values.
YOU - Do I really remind him of *that*?
COMPOSURE [Medium: Failure] - You begin to fidget slightly, as if your fingers only now realised that touching the hems of your jacket is the most interesting thing they could be doing. You look up at Kim with about a million percent less proudness than him. “I guess”, you say. “It’s not *that* crazy of you to think that.”
KIM KITSURAGI - He narrows his eyes slightly at you. Long gone is the angry cloud, and back is the stable man that you’ve come to like perhaps a bit too much. He clears his throat. “I was under the impression”, he begins, then pauses. You lift an eyebrow at him in an encouragement to continue. But he doesn’t.
YOU - “Come on, Kim”, you say. “I don’t judge you, like, at all.” A grin finds its way to your lips. “I mean, look at me, I’m in no position to judge anyone, really. Except, like, murderers. And Cuno’s dad. And Evrart.”
KIM KITSURAGI - The corners of his lips tug upwards at that. “Maybe”, he says. He’s looking right at you with a straight back, yet his nerves are still a bit visible.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Challenging: Success] - He's more than used to this being an issue. And not a small issue, at that.
RHETORIC - But how do men even know that he’s a part of the homosexual underground? He didn’t even tell us that himself; we had to force it out of him.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - Perhaps there’s a reason for that.
YOU - “Yesterday night. You tried not to look below my face at all.”
KIM KITSURAGI - “Yes, well…” He clears his throat. “You did run away immediately after I accidentally let my focus slip.”
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Hang on, did he *check you out* without you noticing?
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Challenging: Success] - Really? Did that thought excite you so much? You’re lucky you’re wearing jeans.
YOU - “But I didn’t.” You feel your face heat up as you remember the actual reason why you left his room. The problem seems to be repetitive. “It wasn’t because of that at all.”
KIM KITSURAGI - He raises a single doubtful and authoritative eyebrow slowly. “Oh? Then what was the real reason for your departure?”
AUTHORITY [Easy: Success] - Do NOT tell him the real reason!
YOU - “Like I said”, you try again. “I was tired.”
KIM KITSURAGI - “Mmhm. Let’s look for Ruby now, shall we?”
AUTHORITY [Godly: Failure] - You have no choice but to follow him.
VOLITION [Legendary: Failure] - Lilienne was wrong; you can’t treat him well. All you do is hurt people.
- 1 MORALE.
SHIVERS [Medium: Success] - A curtain is drawn over a window. The door of a vehicle is shut. All around the city, people are wishing for privacy. A man draws his hat down to cover his face, but it’s not because he’s hiding. Everyone who wants it gets to feel the sun’s warmth on their skin. Even in the most private of parts, the sun finds its way.
DAY 6 - DOLORIAN CHURCH OF HUMANITY IN MARTINAISE, 19:17
DOLORIAN CHURCH OF HUMANITY IN MARTINAISE - You’re back inside the party church, where music flows through the wooden pillars with no sign of ever stopping. You think you know where Ruby is hidden, and you’ll comprehend her as soon as possible after taking care of a few loose threads.
YOU - Ever since your little fight with Kim, your relationship’s felt really stiff and coerced. It’s as if all you’ve built up has suddenly cracked to show that nothing was real; as if your incipient friendship was nothing but your imagination.
LOGIC [Easy: Success] - You’re blowing this way out of proportion. You just had a little fight. You drama queen.
EMPATHY [Heroic: Failure] - But what if he *hates* you now? What if he hates you because you’re a traditionalist who reminds him of his bullies?
RHETORIC [Trivial: Success] - You’ve said a few traditionalist things, yes, but not *that* many. Most of your statements have been leaning towards political moralism. The lieutenant is a moralist, right?
ANDRE - “Hey, cop-guys!” Andre is dancing as usual, and waves enthusiastically at you when he spots you in the shadows. “Have you figured out how to make the beat even harder-core yet?”
EGG HEAD - “HARDCORE! COMMUNISM FOR ALL!”
KIM KITSURAGI - “Delinquents”, Kim mumbles, but when you look at him he’s not meeting your gaze.
YOU - “I might, actually”, you say conspiratorially, and walk up to Egg Head to make the beat harder-core. He’s overjoyed, and after a few minutes of mixing, he’s putting it through the speakers that are stuck on max volume, and it’s *perfect*.
ANDRE - “Oh hell yeah!” Andre shouts, and immediately starts to dance as if there’s no tomorrow.
INLAND EMPIRE - And maybe there won’t be one?
LOGIC [Easy: Success] - There probably will be a tomorrow, and a day after that, and most likely years too. But the possibility that the 2 millimeter hole will devour everyone in here is never 0%.
SHIVERS [Medium: Success] - The people on the streets will fall down some time, and I will embrace their bodies, just like their thoughts embrace my many arms. You will die one day, but you won’t be forgotten. I will remember you.
YOU - This thought actually makes you shiver, and while you wonder just who it is that’s able to speak to you, you’re suddenly feeling your heart drop to your stomach.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Challenging: Failure] - The sudden rush of anxiety that you feel is not only in your head; it’s a physical feeling, as if you are eaten alive one single cell at a time. It’s painful, but not like a wound.
- 1 HEALTH.
YOU - What the hell is this feeling?
VOLITION [Medium: Success] - Existential dread.
HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - Fear of death.
SUGGESTION [Legendary: Success] - Concern that you won’t have enough time.
YOU - Enough time for what?
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Godly: Success] - Behind you stands a man with a strong moral compass. His appearance is close to that of a holy being; in the same tier as Dolores Dei herself, but you know that he would be beautiful even without either body nor skin. His beauty stems from within, surpassing every standard in the world. There are many things he’s made you realise but this is the one you become aware of now: Kim Kitsuragi is the most perfect man in the world.
RHETORIC [Trivial: Success] - He’s not ‘perfect’ because he’s without fault, but his faults are a part of why he’s perfect.
YOU - It’s hard to hell for how long you stand there in the church, watching Andre dance to Egg Head’s new beats. You think that just a minute has passed, yet it feels as if you’ve grown older by at least a year. How strange it is to be alive. You turn to look at your partner, and your heart starts to flutter.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Easy: Success] - The anxiety you felt dissipates, and instead your insides begin to feel like they’re an oven. It’s not an unpleasant feeling.
SUGGESTION [Challenging: Success] - Ask him to dance with you.
YOU - Again? I already did that, and he thought I was a lunatic!
YOU - It doesn’t matter. The words flow out of your mouth without your consent, and you get the pleasure of seeing Kim turn towards you with a single raised eyebrow.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Haven’t we been over this, officer?” He hasn’t stopped calling you officer since that little fight, but you’re not discouraged this time.
YOU - “You sure?” It’s easy to fall into step beside Andre, who yells at you in appreciation. You start it off hard with the sickest moves you’re able to conjure. It’s fun, but it feels a little lonely without the Lieutenant.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Formidable: Success] - Even though your head is moving and bobbing to the beat, you still manage to see the tiniest of tugs on Kim’s lips.
YOU - “Join me, Lieutenant! Your assistance is needed!”
KIM KITSURAGI - He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. “Is it now?”
YOU - “Yes!” You’re almost surprised that your limbs aren’t showing any signs of falling off by the amount of force you put into your moves, but you’re certainly not complaining. “It’s a code 31, code 31! Officer in need of assistance on the dance floor!"
KIM KITSURAGI - “Mmhm.” He’s still not showing any signs of starting to dance. His eyebrow is still raised slightly, but now the corner of his lip is *really* starting to nudge upwards into an involuntarily half-smile. He’s pretty, as always.
YOU - “Kim, I’m pulling rank on you for the first and last time *ever* now. Come dance with me!”
KIM KITSURAGI - He’s still staying put for a little while longer, most likely debating whether he should stay mad at you or accept this as your version of wanting to make things better between you. Finally, he rolls his eyes and lets a real smile fall onto his lips. “Fine, you little psychopath. You better watch out for *these* moves!”
KIM KITSURAGI - He begins to do something genuinely impressive with his legs; his feet are moving so quickly on the wooden floor that you almost have a hard time keeping up with his movements. Andre cheers him on and so do you. Kim shakes his head at the both of you, and you don’t need to be a mind-reader to know that he sees *you* as part of the delinquents right now. Still, he looks happy. Free. And smug.
YOU - It’s refreshing to see Kim let loose like this, even though it took some serious coercion from your part. You laugh at him as he accelerates even further, and try to keep up with his truly ‘sick moves’.
YOU - A thought passes through your mind briefly; so briefly, in fact, that the next second you’ve already forgotten that it ever passed your mind at all. You think: ‘I could fall in love with that man’. And then it is forgotten.
EGG HEAD - “My posse!” He yells. “Are you ready for some… HARDCORE?”
ANDRE - “Always, Egg Head!”
EGG HEAD - To your surprise, and to everyone else’s it seems, Egg Head actually *lowers* the beat slightly. It’s not by much, and it’s still just as loud, seeing as the volume’s stuck on max, but it’s definitely slower now. “ULTRA TO THE MEGA!”
ANDRE - After standing still in shock for a few seconds, he runs over to Acele and begins to tug at her arm. She doesn’t follow him immediately, instead she’s standing for a while and shaking her head. After a bit though, she finally relents, although involuntary, and lets Andre drag her to the dance floor.
NOID - Meanwhile, Noid nods his head to the slower beat, and walks briskly over to the end of the church where Tiago suddenly appears. They both hide in the shadows, and enjoy the music together.
EGG HEAD - “TECH-LADY?” He yells, making Soona look back at him with a mad expression. “YOU WANNA DANCE, ULTRA-STYLE?”
SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - “No.”
EGG HEAD - “ALRIGHT! CONSENT IS HARDCORE!”
KIM KITSURAGI - The both of you have stopped dancing, and you observe Kim as he looks around at the different characters in the church. As his head moves, you once more notice the growing stubble along his sharp jaw, and you suppress the urge to lick your lips.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Impossible: Success] - You should fuck him. Or better yet; ask him to fuck *you*.
YOU - Where the absolute fucking hell did THAT come from?!
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Your cock. Duh.
SUGGESTION [Formidable: Success] - Perhaps you should go on a few dates before that. You can start by asking him to dance.
YOU - *Again*? Why is that the only suggestion you have for me?
SHIVERS [Legendary: Success] - The Smoker on the Balcony takes a long drag of his unfiltered cigarette and follows the smoke with his gaze. He’s waiting for his Saturday friend to arrive, and contemplates whether he should brew some coffee or not. A few buildings away, a woman takes a sip out of her favourite cup. She likes her coffee black, but for once she poured some sugar in it. By her side lies a magazine displaying the frame of a man. He’s handsome in her eyes, but it is not the kind of handsome that she respects. Not the one she would dream about in a lifeless sleep.
YOU - You take the few remaining steps between you and Kim, and he turns towards you when he senses your presence.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - He’s absolutely stunning.
COMPOSURE [Godly: Success] - You manage to speak without stumbling on your words, and the lopsided smile you pull is sure to be at least *somewhat* coquettish.
YOU - You blink at him with both of your eyes, because winking feels way too cheesy in this situation. Kim blinks back at you. “Lieutenant”, you begin, and already Kim looks at you suspiciously by the use of his title. “Will you dance with me one more time? I won't ask you again.”
KIM KITSURAGI - For an eternity, Kim doesn’t react at all. His stoic expression doesn’t fail him at all as he looks you right in the eyes.
EMPATHY [Godly: Failure] - He’s figuring out how to turn you down.
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - Suddenly, you see a slight twitch in Kim’s eyebrow as he studies you, and you briefly wonder if he’s going to put you through another fight of dominance, eyebrow to eyebrow.
KIM KITSURAGI - But he doesn’t fight you. Instead, he looks around at the dancing delinquents, and lets his body relax slightly. He sighs before saying; “okay.”
YOU - “Okay?”
KIM KITSURAGI - “I said ‘okay’, don’t make me retract it.”
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Oh my Dolores, he said yes? Your body temperature immediately skyrockets, and you don’t even have a chance at fighting the red face that shows just how happy you become.
REACTION SPEED [Medium: Succes] - So? Don’t just stand there; hold his sides!
HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Easy: Success] - You do, and you feel Kim stiffen up below your touch. He’s wearing his normal jacket again, and you’re glad that’s the case because it’s thin enough that you feel his heat through the fabric.
KIM KITSURAGI - For a moment, he’s just standing there, stiff and unmoving, but then he mimics your motion and holds your sides, too.
AUTHORITY [Challenging: Success] - Wait a minute, shouldn’t he hold you over your shoulders? You can’t *both* be the chick here!
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - No, man, this is perfect! This feels *good*!
YOU - Slowly, you begin to move in tune to the beat. It’s quickly evident that even though it’s now a very slow beat, it’s still too quick to properly slow-dance to, so you kind of just move around out of tune instead. It’s slightly awkward, but you don’t mind it at all.
KIM KITSURAGI - He’s observing you, and lets you lead the dance with a somewhat blank expression.
PERCEPTION (SMELL) [Challenging: Success] - Kim smells good; his hygiene is flawless. Although, with a nose as good as yours, you manage to also smell traces of oil rags, transmission fluid and just a hint of brake pads. Then there's his aftershave, smelling of pine needles in a way that’s just so *him* that you almost let out an embarrassing sound in ecstasy when you breathe it in.
+ 1 MORALE.
YOU - “Thanks for this.” You try to interpret what Kim is feeling, but it’s harder than usual to gain entrance to his insides.
KIM KITSURAGI - “I guess I can’t be worse than the delinquents”, he says and nods towards where Andre and Acele are dancing. They’re holding each other close, lovingly, and it’s such an intimate moment that you immediately look away.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Heroic: Failure] - Kim is definitely affected by the dance, judging by how awkward and stiff he’s become. But there’s no telling what it is.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Trivial: Success] - It feels as if your hands are on fire where they rest above the Lieutenant's hips. It’s a wonderful feeling, like warming your cold hands around a cup of newly brewed coffee after a day in the cold air.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - Touch him *more*. Explore every nook and crevice along his frame. Press your body close against his.
COMPOSURE [Godly: Failure] - You feel a drop of sweat trickle down your forehead as you look into the eyes of the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen. To stop yourself from shaking, you grab his sides a little tighter.
KIM KITSURAGI - The smallest of yelps escapes his mouth at that, which surprises himself as much as it surprises you. For a second, you look at each other with equally shocked expressions. “Something was stuck in my throat”, he says, even though he knows that you’ll see right through him.
EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - Yeah, he’s lying, sire. That yelp was *definitely* because of your strong hands along his sides.
YOU - “I…” You begin, but have no idea what you want to say or how you’re going to say it.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - Looking into his eyes is like looking at the beauty of creation, or seeing all of the stars at once reflected in the ocean.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Yes?” He’s not blushing, which you definitely are based on the warmth of your face, but you know that he never blushes, and hope that he might’ve if he was capable of such. Now, he looks at you expectantly.
EMPATHY [Formidable: Success] - Nervously.
SUGGESTION [Godly: Failure] - Tell him that you’re also a part of the homosexual underground!
YOU - Before you have time to reflect upon the fact that you might be lying, the words spill out of your mouth. “I’m also in the underground. The homosexual one.”
KIM KITSURAGI - He snorts at that, then shakes his head. With every step he takes on the dance floor, his muscles move beneath your touch. You don’t want to ever take your hands off of him. “Are you now?”
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Trivial: Success] - Oh yes, you are, baby!
RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - You haven’t thought about it enough to know it for *certain*, but for this man? Without a doubt.
COMPOSURE [Challenging: Failure] - Yet again, words fall out of your mouth without the ability to stop them.
YOU - “I like you, Kim.”
KIM KITSURAGI - He stops dead in his tracks, which makes you stumble and step down hard on his foot. He doesn’t seem to notice. His expression is suddenly… well, you’re not so sure, actually.
EMPATHY [Legendary: Failure] - Annoyance.
DRAMA [Heroic: Failure] - Disgust.
YOU - Hesitantly, you remove your hands from him, and they’re immediately cold again. You want to reach out and touch him again, but not even you need attributes to realise that that’s a bad idea. Instead, you fiddle with your cold fingers and wait for your partner to reply.
KIM KITSURAGI - He opens his mouth to speak, then shuts it again. Then he closes his eyes and draws in a deep breath. “Can we go outside?” His voice is low and quiet. “Away from the kids?”
YOU - “Of course.” Your voice breaks slightly, but you try to ignore it as you lead the way out.
EGG HEAD - “ALL IS LOVE, LOVE IS HARDCORE!”
PAIN THRESHOLD [Trivial: Success] - It’s cold outside, away from the relative safety of the church. The wind whips your face with its icy chills, and your body screams to be close to the warmth from Kim’s body again.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Is this a joke?” He asks, his voice stern and free from amusement. “Because if it is, it’s not at all funny.”
YOU - “Of course it’s not a joke, why’d you think that?”
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Formidable: Success] - Because he thinks that you’re playing him, just like you play the suspects that you interview.
EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - He trusts you, but not with his feelings.
KIM KITSURAGI - He draws in a deep breath, then exhales it slowly. White smoke trails out of his mouth in the cold air. “Tell me, detective”, he says. “When we’re out of this place, when the case is finished and all of our paperwork is done. Will you still think of me the same way?”
YOU - “Yes, of cour-”
KIM KITSURAGI - “No”, he says and shakes his head. “Really *think* about it, I know that you can.”
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Challenging: Success] - Relationships can often feel more intense than they really are if people experience new or dramatic events together. This also means that sometimes, the emotions these people feel during this period aren’t the same once the circumstances shift.
INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - Kim is a man who’s able to keep his feelings contained. The outburst earlier today was a rarity, and he knows that it was you who pulled it out of him. You’re able to make him feel things that frightens him, and it’s like a drug; both exhilarating and absolutely terrifying.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Legendary: Success] - After the karaoke, something within the Lieutenant shifted. He began to see you in a new light.
EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - Your feelings for him have been sneaking up to you, almost so slowly that you haven’t noticed a difference. But for Kim, it all hit him like a motor carriage at once. He still hasn't adjusted to it.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Well?” He says, now with his arms crossed. “I can see your brain working, so what do you think?”
YOU - Slowly, you look up at him, into his eyes. You’re suddenly scared, because you realise that this isn’t just some flimsy feeling like ‘this person is hot, I should ask them on a date’ like you did with Lilienne. No, this is deeper. And so much scarier.
HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Easy: Success] - You reach out a hand towards him, but wait for him to grasp it. He doesn’t, but you keep it between you.
YOU - “I’ve lost my memory, and more than three people have told me that I’m insane. I dress like disco and I’m a human can-opener. I don’t know who I used to be but I’m starting to figure out who I *wan’t* to be.” You take a deep breath. “And I want to be good. Sober. And”, you add, glancing up at Kim’s stoic face, “with you.”
KIM KITSURAGI - At first, he doesn’t react at all. Then, slowly, he starts to shift. It’s like watching a flower bloom; his expression slowly begins to turn a little softer until he starts to smile. His shoulders relax and he shrinks almost three centimetres. It fills you with joy.
YOU - Then, there’s a hand in yours. It’s in a leather glove, but you gladly take it.
COMPOSURE [Impossible: Failure] - Your eyes tear up slightly as you watch Kim’s demeanour change.
KIM KITSURAGI - “It’s a little silly”, he says as he looks into your eyes with an earnest gaze. “We’ve barely known each other for a week, and still…” He draws in a breath. “And still, I kind of like you, too.”
YOU - “‘Kind of’?” You laugh, and he shrugs a little as he grins. “Well, experiencing so many new things together - hell, experiencing my new *LIFE* together, ought to bring us close as fuck if anything.”
KIM KITSURAGI - He raises a single eyebrow at that. “Yes”, he replies in his driest possible tone. “Hell. Close. Fucking.”
ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - Hang on, FUCKING?
KIM KITSURAGI - “I must admit, you managed to… stir something within me after the karaoke.”
ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you.
KIM KITSURAGI - “You flirted with me before that, but you flirt with a lot of people, so I didn’t think too much of it.”
YOU - “I don’t flirt with a lot of people!”
RHETORIC - You do.
KIM KITSURAGI - “You do.” He gives your hand a little squeeze. “I’m glad, and flattered.” His face turns almost sad suddenly. “But the case has to be finished before this”, he gestures vaguely between you, “can continue.”
AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - He can’t decide that! Tell him that *you’ll* determine how and when you’ll date!
LOGIC [Easy: Success] - Kim does have a point, though.
PAIN THRESHOLD - It still hurts your heart.
ENDURANCE - It really does hurt.
- 1 HEALTH.
YOU - “Okay”, you say and swallow around a lump in your throat. “Then let’s finish this.”
DAY 63 - Precinct 41 in Jamrock, 16:56
YOU - “Hey, Kim?” You call from your chair. Your feet have been crossed on your desk for almost an hour now, and so far three different colleagues have asked you to take them down. But you haven’t.
KIM KITSURAGI - “You don’t have to yell”, he says with a sigh. “I’m sitting beside you.” He does sit beside you; in front of his own desk, which used to be Jean's but is now his. Jean had complained that the entire corner smelled of booze, and Kim had simply said ‘I don’t feel it’, and since then, your favourite person in the world has been sitting within poking distance from you. Not that poking him isn’t the most dangerous thing you can do in the entire world, of course.
YOU - “It’s Friday.” Because you’re thinking about it, you contemplate whether to poke him with your pencil, but decide against it on account of you still having a bruise on your upper arm from where he poked you back, ten times harder. You grin at the memory.
KIM KITSURAGI - “It is.” He doesn’t even glance at you from where he’s engrossed in his papers.
YOU - “So I thought, do you want to follow me to get wasted at a pub?”
KIM KITSURAGI - His head snaps up so quickly his neck snaps, and you cringe at the painful sound.
EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - The gaze he sends you is one of alarm and worry. He wonders if you intend to flush all of your progress down the drain on a whim.
YOU - “I’m sorry”, you say and reach up your hands in surrender. “I was kidding.” You cringe as Kim’s gaze seems to penetrate your soul. “Too soon?”
KIM KITSURAGI - “Definitely too soon.” He’s still inspecting you warily as he slowly turns back to his papers. “I was thinking of cooking dinner, though”, he says, but he doesn’t outright invite you.
YOU - “Oh, wow!” You shoot him a glance. “Are you intending to invite a boy home?”
KIM KITSURAGI - “I’m thinking in those terms, yes.”
HALF LIGHT [Challenging: Failure] - What if it’s not really *you* he’s talking about? Maybe he’s inviting The Smoker on the Balcony or some other young and hot man.
YOU - “He must be lucky.”
KIM KITSURAGI - “He is”, Kim agrees. “I’m going to make a Samaran potato pie.”
YOU - You whistle at that, which makes Jean hush you from the other side of the room.
EMPATHY [Challenging: Failure] - WHAT IF IT’S NOT REALLY *YOU* HE’S TALKING ABOUT?
YOU - It perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the one thing that makes you remove your feet from your desk is the desire to turn your body to face Kim completely.
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - The lieutenant is stoic as always, yet there’s something tugging at his lips in a way that reveals his true intentions. You calm down slightly as he turns to look at you with an amused expression.
KIM KITSURAGI - “Do you want to come and be the third wheel?”
YOU - “Wait, third?” You feel your pulse increase slightly. “Who’s the second?”
KIM KITSURAGI - His little grin turns into a full-on smirk as he proudly says; “your ego.”
YOU - With a laugh, you stand up and walk over to him. He’s more beautiful than anyone you’ve ever seen, and more wonderful than anyone you’ll ever meet. You punch his shoulder playfully and he tugs at your arm until you’re leaning over him.
KIM KITSURAGI - He looks between your eyes and lips with that same smirk, and just as you’re about to close the distance between your lips, he whispers: “Not until dessert is served.”
YOU - There has never been anything you’ve been more willing to wait for.
+ 1 HEALTH.