Thirteen ★ Video

[wasthemaster]

[He had heavily debated on if he wanted to turn on the video feed, all things considered. His head was still pretty foggy and he was struggling to grasp the fact that he had disappeared for ten full days.

No, correction. He'd blown himself up on camera and then disappeared for ten full days. Urgh. How embarrassing.

He first took the time to sift through the messages left on his bracelet, baffled by the sheer amount of information (and slightly amused/unsettled. Davesprite what is wrong with you.) Then he realized there were several responses to his original message before the disaster struck.

…he was fucked, wasn't he? Alas, he knew he couldn't keep hiding so the best method was to be as nonchalant as possible. That meant showing his face whether he wanted to or not.

When the feed flickers on anyone watching will see a boy who looks sort of like he was hit by the Knight Bus. His hair's messy, there are bags under his eyes and there's the slightest hint of a five o'clock shadow on his chin.]

…hey. [Yes, Draco. After all this time, the most you can do is say hey.] Three things.

First of all, how many of you from that large influx of people are still here?

Two, what's the state of my apothecary?

And three, I'm in desperate need of an aspirin.

…oh, and four. If the gods would just allow for a little more freedom in alchemy…[He'll just grumble to himself.] I'm not done tweaking that formula, so I don't want to hear it. We're pretending nothing happened, understand? Just so we're clear.

Comments

[nukeoleptic]

Oh, that didn't make you mad enough? Alright, then, I'm off to snog Harry Potter. Be back in a few hours.

[wasthemaster]

[Yup. That grip around her suddenly tightens whether out of anger or fear, it's hard to say.] ...don't you dare.

[nukeoleptic]

[ And that catches her off guard. ]

You know that I was joking, right?

[wasthemaster]

["...no."]

Obviously.

[nukeoleptic]

Harry's nice. He's just not.. blonde enough, though, I think.

[wasthemaster]

Very funny. ["...do me a favor and don't leave me for him or something equally ridiculous, okay?"] Nice isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe Potter. ["Not that I'd use it to describe me either, but some people beg to differ. I don't get it."]

[nukeoleptic]

Nice isn't the word I'd really pick for you, you know.

[ She wouldn't. Ever. But she doesn't think that needs to be said -- she's so, so sure that he has to know that already. ]

I don't want to talk about him right now, anyway. I want to talk about you.

[wasthemaster]

As you shouldn't. We all know I'm a pretty horrible person. [But he's still holding onto her pretty tight which is as good as any of an indication that he's uncertain about something.]

...yeah? What about me?

[nukeoleptic]

[ That's certainly enough to get a frown out of her, and she nips at his jawline. ]

Mostly about how horrible you aren't.

[wasthemaster]

I love you. [Well that was random. He actually looks sort of startled that the phrase came from nowhere and he flounders for a moment to regain his footing.] ...for that reason, I mean. You're sort of delusional and it's adorable. [Right. Playing it off as a joke works wonders.]

[nukeoleptic]

[ She doesn't buy it at all when he tries to play it off and instead shoots him a look that is mostly concerned and maybe also a little worried. He wins a blush out of her for the first time in a pretty long time. ]

I love you, too. Haven't forgotten, have you?

[wasthemaster]

Mm...don't think so, but reminders never hurt, do they? [He can't help but grin at the sight of that blush though. Yes good Jade. Best girlfriend.]

[nukeoleptic]

I'm preeeeetty sure I remember you implying you got sick of me saying the l word thirty times a day.

[wasthemaster]

Well what if I changed my mind?

[nukeoleptic]

[ She'd tease him more severely later, sometime when he wasn't freshly back to the land of the living. Now, she just shrugs and squeezes his fingers. ]

Maybe I love you. Some.

[wasthemaster]

[He knows she's teasing. He knows that immediately but it's still hard to really think of a response that isn't defensive or anything at the moment. Instead he just settles for knocking his forehead into hers.]

Heh. Okay, well, maybe I will accept that answer. Whatever.

[nukeoleptic]

[ She just smiles at him as he does that, pleased at his response, lifting one hand up to touch his cheek. ]

I love you more than I love flowers. And marshmallows. And snausages.

[wasthemaster]

And I only know what two of those are. [He's just dragging her even a little closer.] ...in all seriousness though, I think I missed you a lot.

[nukeoleptic]

[ She can't remember the last time he was this sentimental, and it makes her heart ache a little to think of how bad it must have been for him. ]

I know I missed you a lot. I couldn't sleep. It sucked.

[wasthemaster]

[Considering the last time he was even sentimental at all was probably post-nightmares, the answer is really bad.]

Well...I'm back. We can go home and sleep in the same bed and just pretend none of this ever happened and ignore things about this place that aren't perfect.

[nukeoleptic]

[ Yeah. She knows that it's bad - part of her just doesn't want to admit, yet, how bad things are.

So she kisses him again, pulls away and does it again, lingering and soft. ]

Everything about you is perfect. You are never, ever, ever allowed to leave me here like that again, do you understand?

[wasthemaster]

[That's probably for the best to be quite honest, because at least kissing keeps him grounded and calm.]

...I'll do what I can, okay? No real promises, but close enough.

[nukeoleptic]

[ Good. It's not much at all, but least she can do something for him. ]

Hehehe. I know. That's enough for me. Thank you for trying. When d'you want to go home?

[wasthemaster]

Probably soon...I want to shower but I have to go to the shop after that to check in...and after that? I think I just...don't want to leave for a while. That's okay, isn't it?

[nukeoleptic]

[ She presses her face to his cheek, lingering there. ] Yep. While you're at the shop I'm gonna go buy enough groceries to last us a whole week and we're not gonna leave the apartment a single goddamn time. We are going to sit around in the living room and watch movies and be gross and probably kiss a lot, and that is all that is going to happen next week.