DUPLICITY INBOX

[colorature]

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[shoelicking]

I like it! Ah, I wasn't able to get you flowers, but I hope this is okay.

[ The folded origami flower he hands her is on the smaller side, but it's clear there had been some effort to it. It'd taken enough time that it probably clear that he'd made it before even asking her out, so it is nothing rushed together like his outfit. ]

I don't normally make this kind, so there are some mistakes...

[colorature]

_{[For as dolled up as Diva could be, she doesn't care about appearances as much as one might think someone like her would. When the origami flower is held out for her to take she gives him an audible gasp, plucking it from him to hold closer to get a better look at it. It's better than anything she could ever make and the fact he made it for her has her cheeks turning red.]}

You made this for me...? It's so pretty Tsurugi!

[shoelicking]

Yeah~ You like it? ♥

[ She seems to, so Tsurugi relaxes slightly. There's something nervewracking about giving a gift he doesn't think will mean anything. ]

I can't really afford nice things like you're used to, but I wanna spoil you, too. ♥

[colorature]

I love it!

_{[Her adoration for her little gift is genuine and shows as she cups it in her palms, lifting it to cradle it against her chest. Since she has no pockets and her dress is loose enough around the top, she tucks it in between her breasts to keep it safe.]}

I know you might not believe me but...when I was born I had nothing. I want to be spoiled but money isn't what matters to me.

_{[Even if she likes it. A lot.]}

[shoelicking]

That's a relief to hear. [ He returns her smile with one of her own. ]

I guess I should get a real job now that we have the eggs, haha! [ Not that she doesn't seem to have everything covered -- he's been inside her room. She lives in a luxury he could never hope to know. ]

[colorature]

Babies.

_{[Her correction is firm but there's no threat behind her tone.]}

Do you not have one now? _{[Again, not admonishing but curious.]} What do you do?

[shoelicking]

Babies. [ He's quick to correct himself since she wants it. ]

Uhm... not really. I'm not exactly good at anything besides the whole ... killing thing. I did a little of that -- not vampires though! not this time [ that seems important to mention considering ] -- when I first got here, so...

I have some money from that left over. [ It'll run out sooner than later, but it's not like he's above eating out of the garbage. ]

[colorature]

It's okay. I killed people when I arrived too...but it wasn't for money, I was just hungry.

_{[And upset.]}

It isn't very much then, is it? How long have you been here for?

[shoelicking]

Yeah~? Should I punish you? ♥

[ He's clearly not too concerned with it. ]

Ah, a few months, maybe? I'm not really good with time.

[colorature]

Adrian already punished me by making me eat only crackers for three days for killing three men. I'm trying to be good now.

_{[She's taken him serious, apparently.]}

Are you going to starve?

[shoelicking]

That's kinda kinky. [ Starvation as punishment probably shouldn't cross his mind as something sexual, but here we are. ]

Nah~ I always think of something. I'm really good at begging. ♥

[colorature]

Being hungry doesn't make me horny.

_{[Well...okay that's not entirely true. Being thirsty for blood can also lead to her feeling thirsty in other ways...]}

Yeah...you're pretty good at it huh.

_{[What a call out.]}

If you get hungry though tell me. I'll make sure to fill you up okay?

_{[And with that he'll get a teasing laugh as she begins to cross the street and start them on their walk. She has no idea where he plans to take her but they've stood at the corner long enough.]}

[shoelicking]

It's not the hungry part that's sexy. [ He quickly catches up to her and links their arms. ] Geeze, sometimes you people make me feel like I'm the weird one. [ That's followed by laughter -- he's well aware of how fucked up his 'interests' can be. ]

Ah, there's a cute park I passed on the way here. I thought we could go there! ♥

[colorature]

You are weird, but so am I.

_{[When he links their arms together she instinctively presses herself against his side, holding onto the limb rather eagerly.]}

Ohh okay! Let's go then.

[shoelicking]

We make a cute pair then. ♥

[ He leads her along the walk, smiling softly as she rests against him. It's nice to have someone genuinely want to spend time with him again; it feels like it's been ages. Really, how long has he been here? ]

I'm surprised, though. This is really you're first date? A girl as cute as you should have many boyfriends.

[colorature]

_{[He's not wrong, they do make a rather cute pair. It also helps that Tsurugi's got a pretty darling sub on his arm. A few passerbys give them the odd nod of approval. Sure, they're not contracted, but to anyone who sees them they clearly look like they're together, if not courting.]}

Well I've asked people here to be my bridegroom but no one wanted to be or they were already spoken for. No one has asked me to go on a date either.

_{[Not outright anyway, and not just as friends.]}

And before I came here I wasn't allowed to go anywhere without a chaperone. Dates were out of the question. _{[She squeezes his arm a little tighter.]} I didn't get to go out much either.

[shoelicking]

You really wanna get married, huh? ♥ I might get jealous~

[ He feels the squeeze and briefly wonders if there's something more behind it. He doesn't ask, though. He's never been particularly good with the uncomfortable details of people's lives. He doesn't even acknowledge the uncomfortable details of his own life. ]

That's right. You're a queen... You must have had a lot of bodyguards.

[colorature]

Of course I do.

_{[For some reason his comment has her feeling a little self conscious, her gaze dropping to her toes for a moment.]}

I don't see why you need to get jealous...it isn't as if anyone is asking me.

_{[Or will, she thinks. It's not like her current date partner is asking her.]}

I have a few Chevalier, it's true. They're pretty protective of me...but I haven't any of them here. It's a bit weird. I'm still not used to it, being able to do as I please or go out whenever I want to with whoever I want to.

[shoelicking]

[ He playfully tugs on her arm. ]

You're just waiting for the best! You're going to have the cutest bridegroom one day. ♥ Maybe even a super rich ones. That's where it's really at, you know.

[ His gaze fixates ahead of him, and he tries to keep his normal smile. ]

Did you not get a lot of choices?

[colorature]

_{[The look she briefly throws him is a little off when he says what he does but she doesn't speak until she's facing forward again.]}

The person you marry is supposed to end up as family, you know.

_{[Hadn't they said they were family now? This is a little too complicated for her to deal with at the moment.]}

No. I spent the first fifty years of my life locked away in a tower.

[shoelicking]

... Yeah.

[ She's right, and part of him aches so deeply to have exactly that, but the logical part of his brain knows that they could still have something, their kids, even without that. It'd be better for her -- she deserved someone who had something to offer.

It's his turn to squeeze her arm, though it's involuntary, when she mentions a tower. He's tried desperately not to miss him, but little reminders crept up now and then. Proof that he's truly alone here.

He isn't sure if what he feels is pity, or if it's simply understanding. ]

Fifty years is a long time... [ He sighs, though it's more wistful than sad. ]

I grew up in a basement. [ This isn't particularly pleasant date talk, but somehow, it doesn't feel completely uncomfortable either. ] I was only locked inside for a few years though!

[ There's a hint in his tone that sounds like he thinks that's a genuine favor -- it could have been longer. He's lucky, after all. ]

[colorature]

<sub>[It is a long time. A long, long time. Time that was wasted being a guinea pig for men who saw her as nothing more than just an animal. A being without thought or feelings. Something that didn't deserve to be treated humanely because it wasn't human to begin with.

Something inside her twists a bit when Tsurugi mentions he was locked away too. Sure, it wasn't for fifty years but he was human. His few years was enough when scaling it to his lifespan compared to her's.]</sub>

...Well now we're both out. I won't let anyone do that to me again. I won't let them do it to you either.

_{[She squeezes his arm perhaps a little too tight.]}

We're free here.

[shoelicking]

[ It makes sense that she would like her freedom. Anyone would. It's how people say Tsurugi should feel -- he's out of Touma's grasp, so he can be his own person. He can develop all the things he lacked growing up. He could have a hobby if he wanted. Dress the way he wanted. Live wherever he chose.

He hates it.

Freedom is suffocating, and if he thinks too long about it, he gets physically sick. ]

I don't want to be.

[ He forces a laugh, but it's humorless. ]

Geeze, I'm not a very fun date, am I? It's just a little bit further, I promise.

[colorature]

<sub>[It's not so much that he's not fun it's just that it's not what she was expecting to discuss right now. Still, she can kind of get what he means. Of course Diva had meant it in a literal sense - she won't ever let anyone lock her up again. That being said, she struggles still with knowing what to do with herself. Thankfully Adrian was around to put limits on her, to give her boundaries that her Chevalier would impose if they were here.

Without him, she'd be a loose canon, unleashed upon Duplicity as a whole.]</sub>

It's because it's scary, right?

_{[Freedom, that is.]}

[shoelicking]

Is that what it is? [ Scary. That certainly made sense. Tsurugi knew he was a coward. It'd always been that way. ]

I think I was just bred to be someone's bitch. [ Bred. Raised. It's the same by now, isn't it? ]