colorature | DUPLICITY INBOX

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.

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.

[ 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?

_{[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.

... 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. ]

_{[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.]}

...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.

[ 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.

_{[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.]}

It's because it's scary, right?

_{[Freedom, that is.]}

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? ]

Is that what you are? A lost puppy?

_{[There's nothing mean about the way it comes out as she continues, his arm still in her grasp.]}

It's okay to be scared. Shall I make you mine then?

[ It's definitely not the first time he's been called a dog. It's practically instinctive, something Touma's long since drilled into him, when he playfully barks at her. ]

Woof woof. ♥

[ He lets go of her arm, but only so he can slide his hand down until it settles, intertwined with hers. ]

I already am, aren't I?

_{[Someone else might find it fucking weird that he's barking but she finds it hilarious. He draws quite the giggle out of her, only for her to swing their now entwined hands together excitedly.]}

Hehe...yeah, you are! You're mine.

I'm a really good dog. [ He assures her like it's some kind of sales pitch. ]

I'm even house-trained.

Will you be loyal? That's what dogs are best known for.

_{[Aside from a few other traits.]}

Mmhmm! [ He answers energetically, and there's almost a skip to his step. ]

I've been the same guy's slave for my whoooole life. ♥ I'm basically the most loyal dog there is.

And now you're mine.

_{[Y'know, just double checking. The word slave makes her a little uncomfortable but she doesn't bother to harp on it.]}

I already have a pet cat so I guess you can be my pet dog.

Yeah~ ♥ All--

[ Wait a second. ]

You mean Kuro-chan, don't you?

Yeah! He's Adrian's sub too but he's my pet.

_{[Because there's a hierarchy in place here okay.]}

He's soft and warm and small enough I can stick him in my dress.

In your dress? He's lucky, then~ ♥

[ He snickers at his own joke before tilting his head to the side. ]

It's better to not mention me too much. [ To any of her friends really, but Kuro he feels genuinely guilty for. It's not a feeling he likes, much less would have ever acknowledged prior to meeting Mahiru. ] We've had... our differences in the past.

[ Kuro doesn't hate him for the things he's done, but that's actually worse. ]

You're lucky too. You've gotten me out of it.

_{[Haha...why are they so horny...]}

...Oh. Well, you're the father of my babies. He kind of just has to deal with it.

_{[She's not going to pretend she's a single parent okay.]}

I have, haven't I? [ The smirk that follows is slightly devious -- it's waaay to easy to picture doing exactly that now. ]

Maybe I should think of it like that, too...

[ Instead of running from every problem. ]

How are they? The babies, I mean. I meant to stop by last night... [ He realizes only afterwards that he's actually not sure if he had. Everything after 7pm got a little fuzzy. ]

_{[Yeah Tsurugi stop running from your problems.]}

They're okay. _{[Last night had been...something.]} You did stop by though, but you were pretty drunk. Do you not remember?

_{[That's a little concerning.]}

Did I? [ That's not good. The opposite, really. If there is anything he cares about, it's not being around his children when he's like that.

He's nothing like his father, but the fear that he could be always lingers. ]

Sorry. Sometimes I forget some of the things I did the night before... [ Normally, he has Jun and Yumi to help figure him out -- or it had been normally back home. Then again, there were times when even they were stumped. ]

Well isn't that what happens when people get drunk? They forget things.

_{[She's not here to scold him about what he did though. She's here because she wanted to be taken on a date and have a good time.]}

I guess so! I have a friend who can remember everything.

[ He swings her hand with his. ] I wish you could meet him. He'd never believe I could score a girl like you.

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