frostfist | wish psl collective

[ all ears....more like all hair. she says he's hard to forget but shouldn't he be saying that about her? even if she weren't his senior he'd still be glancing her way more often than not. ]

Mm, I don't know.

[ a tip of his head this way and then that before he's leaning towards her, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. ]

Maybe I want to hear more about why you won't forget me any time soon.

[ the booze is definitely getting to him. ]

[ he's teasing her, clearly. normally she would've berated him for that, but the alcohol has made her a little more amicable than usual. the blush on her cheeks is proof of that. ]

I mean... you're cooperative. You get the job efficiently compared to the others, among other things. But I might just be biased.

[ why, though? she doesn't answer that. he's just a guy who works hard like the others.

she's silent for a while till she brings her glass to her lips and drains the rest of her drink, her voice solemn when she speaks again. ]

I think... it's because you're still here with me when everyone else has gone home. [ she turns to look at him, her smile a tad sheepish. ] That's what set you apart from the rest, selfish as it sounds.

[ it'd been meant half as a joke, words said mostly to get a rise out of her. so when she responds earnestly, he's taken aback, momentarily rendered sober despite all the booze they've knocked back so far.

and then it's his turn to look sheepish. good thing his cheeks are pink already. ]

That can't be that much of a big deal, can it? [ but, well. he bumps her shoulder lightly with his. ] I'll happily stick around whenever you want me to though.

[ she shakes her head. ] You... really don't have to.

[ yet she leans sideways, resting her head on his shoulder as though she doesn't want him to leave. usually she can handle one more mug, but tonight's not that night it seems.

it didn't help that her fellow subordinate feels nice and warm beside her. she's aware that it's too indulgent, especially coming from a coworker who she only recently worked with, but: ]

I'm not... usually like this, though. Just give me a minute to rest.

[ oh. he goes still as her weight leans against him, careful not to jostle her. she's warm but it's not an unpleasant feeling; rather, he has to fight the urge to rest his head against hers.

that wouldn't exactly be very proper, given their working relationship. ]

Sure you don't need me to take you home?

[ can't coworkers lean on each other like this platonically, damn ]

My home's pretty far away from here... If I miss the last train, I'll just book a small hotel room for the night. 's no big deal.

[ it's the weekend anyway. ]

[ he can't just leave her in a shitty hotel by herself?? damn. though he will stare out into the crowd a bit before letting his head drop down onto hers. ]

Then I'll stick with you then. Like you said, it's the weekend.

[ he will shell out for a different room though. ]

[ she blinks momentarily at the weight of his head on hers, but otherwise doesn't make a move to push him away or anything of the sort. she even smiles to herself secretly, comforted by his warm presence alone. ]

Mm. [ she raises a hand to weakly grab her mug. ] Do you... still wanna drink? I've got one more in me.

[ no she fucking doesn't ]

[ GIRL,,,,,,

unfortunately she is doing such a good job at masking that he (stupidly) believes her for the time being and even sits back up to refill both their glasses. ]

One more for both of us then.

[ they are going to leave this place in shambles ]

[ they'll be fine...... surely the hotel they'll venture into has plenty of rooms for them,

either way she instantly perks up upon seeing her glass being refilled, and she extends it towards wriothesley's one more time. ]

All right - cheers!

[ bottoms up, and the devil laughs (it's us we're the devils) ]

Cheers!

[ there's the clink of their glasses and then the satisfied silence of two people downing their drinks in contentment. will they regret this later, maybe, but right now everything's enveloped in a nice warm glow. ]

Maybe we should do this more often.

Mm... Maybe we should.

[ her glass is almost empty by the time she slams her glass down on the tabletop, and immediately she rests her head on his shoulder like she's done this all before. ]

But that depends. Don't you have anyone else to drink with...?

[ this time, he's less fussed about her leaning on him and immediately lets his own head drop down like it's the most natural thing in the world. the power of alcohol. ]

A few, but I'd rather hang out with you. [ meanwhile this is just normal. ] But I could say the same for you. Surely you've got plenty of people you could drink with too?

[ she snorts. ] Please. Didn't you see the rest of 'em already fleeing for their lives once I cracked open a cold one?

[ she's exaggerating, of course. but the alcohol has muddled her perceptions of her relationships with other people; why else would she be leaning against her junior like this? ]

I'm used to drinking alone anyway. That's how it's always been. [ a shrug. ] So if you're just sucking up to me 'cause I'm your senior... well, that's to be expected, I guess.

[ wow. wow!!

he pulls away, juuuust enough that he can look down and poke her on the side of her head with an index finger. ]

I'm sucking up to you because I like you, not because you're my senior. [ though her being the latter certainly doesn't hurt. ] But if that's how it is, then I guess I'll just have to keep you company each time you go out.

[ wow!! she's pouting at him now, her glazed eyes narrowing. thank fuck she's drunk so that she won't have to explain why her cheeks are burning more than usual. ]

Since when did I hire a bodyguard...

[ though he's less of a bodyguard and more of a... hm. no, she shouldn't say it. ]

Well, if you're that serious about that new role of yours, [ she abruptly stands up, wobbling on her feet a little ] you should escort me home instead.

[ or hotel. whatever man. ]

If the lady doth insist....

[ why is he speaking like that..... but his own rise to his feet is slightly more elegant, even if his bar stool screeches a little too loud. ignore that and focus on the way he's offering out his arm like a true escort. (again, why is he acting like that...)

that said, ain't no way they're making it through public transpo like this and calling a cab would be way too expensive, as he squints down at his watch. ]

Not sure we're going to be able to catch the last train though.

[ immediately she takes him by the arm and just. leans heavily against him because ough she can't feel her legs. even her voice has become a bit slurred the more she speaks. ]

There's... there should be a hotel a couple of doors down from here...

[ it's not a love hotel, thankfully. just a boring business hotel that's probably filled with equally drunk salarymen enjoying the weekend. but at least it's right there, right? ]

[ listen, he may be drunk but he still has the decency to frown when she suggests staying at a hotel. nothing wrong with the concept itself but: ]

I'll get us separate rooms then.

[ narrator voice: and then there was only one ~~bed~~ room.

but he doesn't know that as he leads them both out of the bar, wincing a little at the brisk autumn air that slaps him in the face once he's out the door. but it feels nice once he gets used to it, and there's a little more stability in his step as he leads down both down the sidewalk. ]

Do you stay there a lot?

[ she lets herself be escorted away, sniffling a little at the cold autumn winds. also that question catches her off-guard so much that she actually stumbles on her step. whoa. ]

Wh... What kind of person do you take me for...?

[ does he think she just haunts hotels after drinking? preferably with another person? jeez. ]

This joint's one of my favorite watering holes, so of course I would know it's there. Usually I'd be home right about now, but someone drove me to drink more than usual. [ damn ]

[ wow!!! though he'll tighten his hold on her when she stumbles to make sure they both don't go tumbling down. ]

If I remember right, you were the one who said you were fine when you asked for that last drink. [ this is on both of them. both of them!! ] Maybe I shouldn't go out drinking with you anymore...

[ but he'll turn them towards the entrance of the hotel and take them both inside. ]

[ stop, don't break her heart(?)... she opts to pout instead of replying properly as she's dragged into the hotel entrance and towards check-in, head lolling against wriothesley's shoulder as he takes care of their accommodations for the night.

unfortunately for the both of them, the hotel is practically full! well, except for one small double room thanks to a guest that had pulled out at the very last minute. at this point, ishmael's so closed to passing out on wriothesley that she'll take anything at this point. ]

[ and there was only one room (tears in his eyes).....at least there are two beds, the one mercy left to him. if here hadn't been he would have just slept on the floor. but he'll drag them both to the nearest bed and wait until most of her weight's on the mattress before finally pulling away.

it's late and he doesn't think she'll need to but just in case: ]

You can shower first, if you want.

[ or they can just both pass out in their wrinkly clothes. ]

[ she pretty much collapsed on the bed like a corpse, but it's a miracle she even bothered to open a single eye to look at wriothesley. it helps that he's very easy on the eyes, and it doesn't matter whether she's drunk or not. ]

Mm, help me up.

[ she weakly extendsu a hand to him, barely missing his. does she look like she's able to bathe on her own? not really. but sleeping in their uniform isn't really ideal, so she may as well seek some help for once. ]

[ there's a moment where he turns automatically to do just that. between the booze in his system and the fact that she is his senior, he doesn't think twice about obeying. it's not until he's got her onto her feet, his arm wrapped around hers, that a little nugget of common sense sinks back in.

hold on a minute. he dips his head down (a little too close to her face), squinting at her. ]

You can barely stand up by yourself. How are you supposed to shower like this?

[ says the guy who suggested she shower in the first place ]

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