; O U T C A S T —

@inkblccded     /     continued.

how  delightful  !  he’s  considering  your  request  !  given  that  he  doesn’t  seem  to  like  you  much  ,  it’s  somewhat  surprising  .  you  debate  mentioning  that  fact  to  him  ,  but  knowing  vanitas  he’ll  just  get  defensive  and  deny  you  the  pleasure  of  his  company  for  the  evening  .  so  you  smile  wide  and  deliver  your  simple  reason  ——

❛     because  i  want  to  spend  time  with  you  ,  of  course  !  not  that  i  don’t  visit  a  lot  ,  but  you  either  kick  me  out  prematurely  or  noe  and  the  others  are  with  you  ..  can  you  fault  me  for  wanting  to  speak  with  you  alone  ?  i  just  thought  getting  dinner  would  be  the  most  likely  way  to  get  you  to  agree  .  you  may  not  trust  me  ,  vanitas  ,  but  i  really  don’t  have  any  ill  intent  !  i  swear  ,  in  the  name  of  the  lord  ,  i  will  make  sure  it’s  an  enjoyable  time  !     ❜

you  take  his  hand  ,  holding  it  with  both  of  yours  as  if  it  is  some  sacred  treasure  .  it  could  be  ,  you  think  .  it  certainly  feels  sacred  to  you  .

❛     the  truth  is  ,  vanitas  ,  that  i  happen  to  like  you  quite  a  bit  !  isn’t  it  only  natural  to  want  to  spend  time  with  friends  ,  people  you  like  ?  even  if  only  for  a  night  ,  could  you  put  my  current  occupation  out  of  your  mind  ?     ❜  you  think  ,  at  least  ,  that’s  why  he  dislikes  you  .  but  if  you  had  known  before  accepting  the  job  what  the  chasseurs  had  once  done  ,  you  might  not  have  even  taken  it  .  ❛     you  can  even  pick  where  we  eat  ,  if  you  like  !  i’m  not  particularly  picky  .     ❜

roland has an inconvenient habit of absolutely  flooring  you  with his reasoning. If you can even call it  ‘ reasoning ’, that is, considering that you’ve never encountered any so unreasonable  in your life. this man and noe really are cut from the same ridiculous cloth in places, aren’t they?

they both want to spend time with you. you hurl abuses and you fling threats in return for affections. you kick and scream and snap your jaws like a cornered beast at the first signs of care. you’re something broken , twisted , vile , and this man in front of you is cradling one of your satin-gloved claws in his hands as if you’re not.

something twists in your chest and you can’t stand it. 

your eyes narrow at him, sharp at the edges as you lower your gaze from his oh-so earnest face to where his hands hold yours. he’s right. you don’t trust him. but you don’t trust anyone, really, and you certainly aren’t about to consider a chasseur a friend, of all things. 

friends. he keeps talking about you as if the two of you are already thick as thieves. you don’t understand, but you’re beginning to get the impression that he may never abandon his efforts to get closer to you ( it’d feel wrong if he did ), so you may as well get something out of it, right? roland is offering to treat you to anything you want, swearing upon his good intentions, and all you have to do is exist in the same vicinity as him for an evening.

     “ whether i fault you or not depends entirely on what you want to speak to me about alone. ” he’s right, though, much to your own irritation. the promise of food is always the surest way to acquire your company. “ but...dinner in this city gets more expensive by the day, so whatever it is, i’ll just have to deal with it. there’s a cafe near here that i like. ”

@asheard

     “ no way in–……huh? ”

you aren’t sure what you’re expecting your the obnoxiously loud paladin to greet you with today, but a dinner invitation wasn’t even on the list of things you’d considered. you had your refusal all geared up and ready, prepared to shoot down any declaration of affection he could have possibly thrown your way. 

or so you thought.

roland’s constant praises and attempts to embrace you are one thing. he seems to behave that way with noe as well and you had assumed that he treated everyone in that boisterous, overly friendly manner. 

but inviting you– just you– to dinner is another thing entirely.

you hate the church. you hate the chasseurs. you hate every single person who allowed all of that to happen to you and you hate them with every fiber of your being. ( you don’t know if roland had been a part of the church at the time. how would you know? but in your black vengeful little heart, it doesn’t matter. he’s guilty. they all are. and you hate them. you must. )

but you don’t hate free food.

after a few moments of deliberation, you finally resign yourself to your fate, nodding slowly and avoiding eye contact as much as possible. “ i’m not busy. but why ? ”

the sudden shout startles him and, for reasons he doesn’t quite understand, nie huaisang instantly bursts into tears. 

“ WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!? ”