dappledleaves | THE WORLD: PSL LIFE

[ When they land, Oria sees Demian. He's seen him before, in Sinclair's memory in the hall of mirrors in Fragment and perhaps a peek in one of Michel's doors. This is the main reason why he almost narrows his eyes when he sees Sinclair flustering. It could have been just a "your boyfriend is here to pick you up", but he remembers how much Sinclair crushed on him and how he was still... hm. Oria is aware that he's feeling jealous even though he shouldn't be. After all, he's never doubted Sinclair's love for him. Just looking at his expression brighten upon seeing him despite how exhausted he must be tells it all.

But he still can't stifle the feeling brewing inside him.

...

He really should have done some stress relieving activities before he came here. ]

Emil! You look like you went on an expedition like Indiana Jones.

[ Oria laughs a little. ]

I'm glad you made it back safely. That said, do you want some time to freshen up first? Or did you already take a shower inside the ship?

I had a shower inside the ship.

[ As bumpy as it was. Sinclair closes the distance between them, feeling his anxieties drop away when Oria smiles at him. Oria had been here, waiting, even though he was busy...

He ignores Gregor and Rodya's heckling from a distance as the team splits off for their own down time. Sinclair sighs as he holds up his bandaged wrist]

If it was like Indiana Jones, I wouldn't have all of these...

[ But they're healing quickly. And he studies Oria's ears, wondering. Hoping...]

[ The usual clip-ons are there, hanging off the outer shell of his ear, and the matching earring is placed neatly on the curve of the earlobe. ]

Are you tired? I wanted to see if you were fine enough to go to a cafe or something, since you leave tomorrow.

[ Sinclair shakes his head, but he's pleased by the earring. It looks really good on Oria...]

I'm fine. I think I want to enjoy being on land for a little longer...

[ Then he pauses and peers at Oria's face in concern]

But are you tired?

I have enough for a date with my Emil~

[ His. His!! ]

We can go now. I'll wait until you let your team know that I'm gonna take you on a date.

Okay. Give me a minute.

[ If he wasn't aware of how much heckling he'd get if he leaned in for a kiss, he would. Later...

He jogs back to Dante and the others, letting them know he'd be off with Oria, which starts another round of good natured heckling, including Rodya teasing him about the increase in boys chasing him.

?

Sinclair looks a little blank but dismisses their comments, hoping Oria was too far away to see their signs and jogs back in his direction]

Okay. Done. I need to be back at the airport at 1000 at least but I'm dismissed for the rest of the day.

[ Oria watches Sinclair go and waits again in silence. He thinks he can hear some of them, since they're not exactly being quiet about it and Oria sighs. When Sinclair returns, he smiles at him. ]

Okay! Assuming you left all your belongings with someone else, the deadline won't be a problem. Let's go!

[ To Oria's car, because of course he drove here alone. "Alone". There are hidden guards who scope around the place as always. Out of sight, out of mind. ]

[Sinclair grins, reaching for Oria's hand with his good one.]

Mm. It's going to be offloaded with the cargo. Anything important is in my bag.

[Which has the kindle. Very important!! Also Sinclair is going to become very used to being the passenger princess, huh...]

[ Oria would allow Sinclair to drive his car if he really wanted to, but Oria also likes driving. Oria is the one who's always sitting in the back when there's a chaffeur. Let him drive!!

He holds Sinclair's hand and turns on the engine. It's smooth driving from there on. ]

I'm still surprised you guys don't have as much luggage, considering you stayed here for a longer time than expected.

[Sinclair thinks. Was it that strange? He'll keep holding on Oria's hand]

They stocked the boat with supplies pretty well. But we've always been told to keep our packing light.

[He's so glad he managed to keep a fresh set of clothes untouched by the weather and sea for his return]

I was mostly thinking about clothes...

[ Anything else is a surplus. ]

Packing light is always ideal though. I heard lots of stories about planes losing the passengers' baggages all the time.

...honestly, most of our clothes were unsalvageable by the end. Only good for cleaning rags...

[Ahaha...ha...Let's not think about it]

[ ... ... ...

Oria has so many questions, so he's struck by decision paralysis for the first time in a while. ]

... What?

Um. They kinda got torn up a lot? Oh, and when we tried hanging them out to dry after we cleaned them, sometimes we'd lose them...

[Yeah. Yeah]

... Are you guys that poor that you can't afford clothespins?

[ Bruh. That's so sad?? ]

I'll give you an entire box's worth when you leave.

The clothespins weren't the problem--!

[Sinclair flusters, shooting Oria a look. HONESTLY]

We...just encountered a lot of trouble out there.

Do you guys not have a dryer? Or are your clothes air dry only?

[ Since their clothes seem. Well. Special. ]

Either way, I hope you go shopping for clothes when you go back to Seattle. You're probably gonna need it.

[ He parks next to the cafe and there they go! Into the cafe. It's pretty cozy here with a warm ambience. It's also pretty small, and it looks family-owned. There's no other cafe with the same name. The seats are pretty cushiony too. Oria goes up to the counter to order a caramel macchiato and four portions of lasagna. ]

Mmm, those suits needed to be handled more carefully. [Sinclair sighs a little as he quietly mourns his lost wardrobe. He didn't have a big one to begin with either...

Sinclair will get a chocolate frappe and a toasted chicken sandwich.]

I'll probably have to do some shopping anyway.

[ The food doesn't take that long to be prepared, so the two get their respective tray of their orders. Oria has his drink and stack of four disposable containers. They're all lasagna... He makes his way to a seat, furthest from the entrance and where the employees generally work. The place doesn't echo either and the seats? Plush and comfy. ]

Want some spending money?

["Spending money". Oria, you're making it sound like Sinclair is your sugar baby]

I do get paid you know...

[PLEASE. Sinclair will take a seat and try not to be alarmed by how much lasagne there is..]

Edited 2024-01-23 00:06 (UTC)

Yeah? I know that! Just saying that you should buy a lot of clothes you like and some other things too, like for your hobbies. More books.

[ Speaking of which, it reminds Oria of Demian for some reason. He gets his fork and knife to cut out small portions of the lasagna and nom. Into his mouth they go. ]

By the way, I saw Demian get off the ship with you. Was he related to your work?

[ Small world if so. ]

Ah--you recognised him? [Sinclair brightens a little at the mention of the name. He picks up his toasted sandwich and takes a small bite. Nom]

Mm, I...guess so? The ship he was on came by and helped us out of a bind during a freak typhoon. He seemed familiar with what we were fighting.

[Keeping it vague in public]

[ Oria continues to shovel small portions of lasagna that he cuts. He doesn't make it too obvious, but when he uses the knife, it starts cutting at the bottom of the container a bit. ]

Did you get his contact information? Since you mentioned that he just kinda disappeared back then.

[Sinclair blinks at Oria's eating. Hmmm??]

Um. There wasn't really a chance for that. But it sounds like he spends a lot of time traveling anyway so...

[Demian probably doesn't even have a steady contact number]

Not even a cell phone or email address?

[ And a guy who travels a lot? He wonders if he also hunts for abnormalities and such... Oria is about to say that he could have asked when he was getting off the ship, but holds himself back. ]

Well, did you guys at least hang out for a bit?

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