protective sentence starters // selectively accepting

the thing about sampo koski that made him so dangerous was his ability to wear a smile almost like a mask. not to say he didn't have genuine joy from whatever mishaps he got himself in to, but that people could overlook him thanks to the handsome fool card he kept in his back pocket. gepard knew what he was capable of long before their union. sampo having been on the wrong end of the law but still managing to somehow legally find his way out of anything for this long took smarts and skill. and surviving this long meant d e a d l y skill.

when his men told him sampo had nearly turned over an entire platoon to get to him, gepard knows the exaggeration was minimal, near nonexistent.

"i don't care-!" gepard whisper-scolds, his voice terse as he glances around qlipoth fort, expecting to be overheard. fingers raise, taking sampo by his bicep to pull him closer to a corner, ignoring how the thickness of his limb felt under captain's fingertips. he was mad right now.

"that doesn't mean you can just mow through the patrolling guard into the restricted zone to fight monsters. you nearly broke one of the rookie's leg," though sampo hadn't killed anyone, no, he was not so cruel. but apparently, when the con man heard gepard's company went out into the restricted zone for longer than what was safe with no return contact, he wanted to look for himself. but, the area is restricted for a reason. the fragmentum monsters were still rampant, and the guards refused to let sampo pass. gepard returned just in time to see sampo being restrained by sheer luck and numbers, where gepard demanded his release.

another glance around - gepard isn't ashamed of their relationship, no. he is just a private person by nature. deep down, he's touched at the reaction. no one has ever tried to take on a platoon of guards just to come looking for him. the middle landau feels entirely seen in moments like these.

but still. those charming green eyes were going to get him in trouble.

@ricochetluv

ㅤㅤㅤLITHE FINGERS RUFFLE loose through smoky strands of hair, dampened still from his brief foray with the hotel shower. Dark trousers hang lazily around his waist, towel draped upon shirtless shoulders as he pads around the small room restlessly. No matter how he tries, relaxation simply has not found a home within his body. Perhaps it could have been the unfamiliar surroundings, or even the treatment of the previous hotel, that leaves him so bereft of the sleep his body craves but — no.

Though these are perfectly logical reasons, expected ones even, neither are the cause of his impromptu insomnia. Instead, what plagues him is a certain man. The most interesting, most exasperating person he's had the pleasure to meet so far —

' KNOCK - KNOCK - KNOCK ' Golden eyes snap back to life, flickering toward the door as a muffled call of ❝ room service ❞ forces him from his reverie. Fingers tighten against the rough ends of the towel still laid upon his body, flexing briefly as they would around the hilt of his bat before dropping to his side.