fissionmailed | And PLOT COMMENCES. Terrible plot. Horrible, whiny plot.

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And PLOT COMMENCES. Terrible plot. Horrible, whiny plot.

[There is a Liquid wandering the halls. Usually, Liquids are full of zest. This one... not so much. Odd, really. He's been feeling drained all day. His throat is scratchy and it's difficult to breathe properly. Worse, even his reflexes seem to be dulled! His head aches and his body is shaking with the cold. Why is he suddenly feeling the cold? He doesn't know! He's pale as death. He makes a quick call-]

Ocelooooot, where are you? I need you right now.

[-and hangs up. He can't help the rare whininess in his (particularly shaken and scratchy) voice. Liquid has never been sick a day in his life, excluding some of his imprisonment - and the less said about that the better. He leans against the wall, looking miserable, and sinks down to sit on the floor.]

This is a really rotten week... first the gray hair and now this...

DOES THE UNIVERSE JUST HATE ME LATELY?!

[His words break down into a fit of coughing and he buries his face in his hand for a moment as if that will hide his identity.]

(Long story short, Liquid is sick. It's not serious, even though he looks like hell, but prepare for whiny bitch syndrome if you approach him! He's not used to feeling this rotten.)

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...mn-? [The sound and closeness stirred him and he opened his eyes slowly. He hadn't heard that Dimitri had said, but he assumed he was being addressed.]

Need something? Heh... I shouldn't be resting. Bad host, right?

Not really. [He flicked at one of Liquid's feet, still protected by the blanket.] One cannot help becoming ill.

I made some stew. It's simmering on the stove, if you're willing to risk vomiting.

[He raised an eyebrow, surprised.]

Far be it for me to reject your unexpected kindness out of cowardice.

You would have had to eaten something eventually. [Stands to reason, yup yup.] So? Are you able to sit up, or shall this be where I really start wondering what I can expect out of you in return for all of this?

[He stared blankly at the question, awkwardly pushing himself up into a sitting position.]

What you can expect, depends on what you want.

That's true... [A bowl flew to the pot and was filled with a nice bit of the stew, garnishing itself with a spoon before coming over to Liquid.]

As for what I want... [That took a moment of pause.] I want...to paint the walls of my apartment. And move in a new bookcase. [All terrifically superficial, but he wanted to create the illusion of personal space.]

...

[He catches it, stirring it slowly.]

If you want, I can do that for you.

[He's too weak even to eat in his usual manner, instead lifting a spoonful of the soup and sipping at it slowly.]

If you're fine with it, I'm willing to accept it as proper payment once you're back to full health. [Dimitri kept his back to Liquid, stretching his arms, neck and shoulders, cracking several joints rather loudly.]

I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't.

[He tasted the soup very slowly, warily, and was relieved when he managed to swallow it. Odd, this tension. He had never felt so on edge in his life.]

It was still my suggestion in the first place. [The many knuckles in his hands cricked and cracked as he stretched them out.]

The food isn't disagreeing with you? [Not that he cared.]

But I still offered to do it.

I can eat it.

[He has a lot of willpower on that front. Even if he does feel like his body is in turmoil.]

Suit yourself.

[Dimitri finally turned where he sat to observe the soldier. Grey hairs and illness, huh? He couldn't begin to imagine the kind of prima donna Liquid might have been as a teenager.]

[Well, there was a teenage Liquid running around... but it seemed Liquid only got worse with age.]

[He sat mostly still on the bed, his hands actually shaking - shaking! The nerve of those hands of his! - as they held the bowl and spoon. He raised an eyebrow at the observation.]

I usually do.

[Dimitri was quiet for a moment or two, letting the blonde man have his introspection. He'd been there before. Being sick. It didn't happen often, amazingly enough, but like with Liquid, it could get fairly ugly.]

Not to pry, but I get the feeling you don't live here alone. [Touching more upon Liquid's aging and illness would just aggravate his symptoms as they are, so he chose to ignore them entirely while still maintaining a polite pretext to his staying.]

Ah - no, I don't. Major Ocelot and I live together. [He smiled a little, setting the bowl down still barely touched. His head rested back against the headboard as he thought.]

Pry all you wish; I have nothing to hide.

I think I met an Ocelot a while back. He was a very ill-mannered old man who's very presence screamed "sadist".

[Somehow, he got the feeling this wasn't the same Ocelot.] However, I'm not so imbecilic to think that there's only one of him. What makes yours different from the others?

[He sipped at another spoonful, slowly and thoughtfully.]

About fifty years. [His slight laugh turned into a coughing fit that left him doubled over.]

Ngh... They're the same person, just mine is a lot younger and rather more likeable. Not that I have anything against the older one - much - but I like him a lot better at this age.

[He sighed, partly because he was unsure of whether he was within social rights to reach over and pat Liquid on the back to aid the cough and also because the man's words hit a bit of a sore spot in him. Even now, he still held remnants of his old personality: full of curiosity and the unflinching willingness to actually help people.

T'was disconcerting to be constantly reminded, most especially since arriving here, that that particular facet of who he was had yet to die out or change.]

I can understand that. Youth has arrogance and innocence that makes them equal parts annoying and endearing.

And he's far less prone to trying to stab me in the back - or more accurately, to make it so that others stab me in the back for him.

[He shakes his head, laughing just a tiny bit.]

He never loses that arrogance, and I don't think he ever had innocence. But he's still different at this age.

I had wondered what his particular talent was... [Backstabbing, huh? Not his first choice of career for a man who dressed like a cowboy, but he supposed someone had to be the eager and willing second-in-command who killed their leader.]

I'd like to argue in favor of the supposed innocence. [Dimitri rested his arms against his legs.] The Ocelot I met had the kind of anger and professionalism you have to grow into. Yours, being half a century younger, would have to be innocent by certain degrees, even if it is only initially visible through a slight difference in modus operendi.

His particular talent is actually revolver skills - he can riccochet bullets with remarkable accuracy - and torture. The backstabbing is more of a hobby. I don't think there's anyone he's ever met that he hasn't betrayed. Well, apart from Father. And even he is... not quite certain.

[He stared at Dimitri, drawing his legs up slightly.]

I suppose, by degrees... Still, I don't think I could consider him innocent.

I don't like guns all that much, I'm afraid, although anyone who can do something fancier than putting a hole into something is deserving of praise. [And he might also not like the idea of being shot. Or being in pain. Bullets were very difficult to deflect.]

[His head perks up slightly at the mention of "Father", but he doesn't feel like prying that far. Some things were best left as they were. The squirming and stares also caught his eye.]

All perfectly fair. [He wasn't sure how to phrase his next thought, but it'd just be awkward if he drew it out.] Are you alright?

Heh. He praises himself more than enough to need your assistance on that front.

[Liquid frowned, nodding slowly.]

It's simply something I'm unused to, that's all. Being this weak.

Then I'll let the cat preen on it's own.

[Ah! Dimitri nodded ass well, humming thoughtfully.]

It will pass in due time. Patience, painful as it can be to practice, is what you need here.

Patience is not a virtue I possess in strong quantities. I can generally be patient only if it's going to result in something I desire.

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OMG dat icon! XD

? Sup?

It's just so cute.

Hee, isn't it? I've got a few cute ones.

Re: Hee, isn't it? I've got a few cute ones.

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