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"Yeah, sure, absolutely! Oui Oui, yes!"

Cecil was up for anything.

Cecil oh god Cecil why are you agreeing. Heidi's already pale face seemed to turn a ghostly white. She wanted to shrink into nothingness. "NoIhaveworktodoforLiam." She whined, blinking and watching Em come closer..and closer...and...oh god what was she-- fsdnfkjndfuinvfsdunrkgjnvkjrfgn Heidi's brain momentarily short circuited at the kiss against her neck and she suddenly let out a very excited but startled laugh. When was the last time she'd been kissed anywhere but a polite kiss of greeting on the hand? Her cheeks flushed bright red as she cleared her throat. "E-excuse me."

Heidi got up in a hurry, careful not to grab anything in a way that would ruin her drying nails. It felt weird to have polish on them. "Ah...thank you, Em. I'll, um, keep it in mind?" But most likely not take her up on the offer. Things like intimacy...they just got in the way; they made things too complicated.

Maybe she'd leave a note for future trainees to find. Don't have sex, kids. It's a small island.

Sigh..

"I'll...see you later, Em. Cecil." She paused a moment, grabbing the bottle before Em could take yet another swig. Maybe Howa--Henry wouldn't mind that someone had some...or maybe Caelius could use it more. Yes, Caelius could certainly use a stiff drink she was sure of it. Maybe they could even have it together. It'd be fun, right? She'd think on it after she finished her work.

Giving the two a small wave she slowly made her way out of the room, still blushing as she practically ran to her dorm and locked the door so no one could disturb her anymore.

There was no answer on the other side except for the sound of someone scrambling to find something, followed shortly by a soft 'coming!'

"...That's not funny." Heidi sniffed, wiping at the corner of her eyes and clearing her throat before opening the door. "I don't want your sau--oh." He meant like...an actual sausage. Food! He..he brought her food. Her chest tightened and her eyes burned as she closed them tightly, giving him a smile. "Thank you, Julio. That's very thoughtful of you." She reached out with one hand, the other hidden behind the door.

It may or may not have held an open bottle of bourbon.

"I'll..see you tomorrow. I have a lot of work to do I've been distracted long enough. Thank you, Julio." She stopped, stepping out enough to give him a kiss on the cheek before she disappeared into her room again with the offered food.

Hey, it was better than nothing. Maybe the food would let her keep her handwriting legible enough for Liam.

Giving a warm and friendly smile, Julio handed over the food before giving her a semi surprised look as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Well, it seemed she remembered about her owed kiss after all!

"Any time, Heidi," he said before stepping back. He thought of going to his room, since it was right next to hers, but decided against it. The mist hunter was wanting to be out and about a little longer.

It wasn't before long that he chanced upon Em's room, where Cecil was as well. Raising an eyebrow, he leaned against the doorframe, watching the two.

"Syrup and whipped cream? Interesting way to end the year to say in the very least. Not a bad touch though," he commented.

((Entering from Cafeteria))Gabby waited a moment to let the room air-out a bit before she followed in after Jamisson. She took the jab at her taste in movies with a wry chuckle, "But that's what makes them my favorite in the first place." Walking into room, she couldn't help but feel like it needed a more personal touch. Apart from the faint layer of dust that had gathered from disuse, the room's only indication it belonged to someone was the unmade bed.

Too dedicated to the job to bother with the "home" side of things. Yeah, definitely Jamisson right there. She stood her ground, still staring at the few pieces of furniture when he brought up their first drink. Or rather her attempt at a first drink. It was her last, she decided back then. "It's easy to be good when you know what you can do and what you're supposed to do. And you should know I'm not gonna budge on my stance on alcohol, Wi-did you just call me Gabby?" she blinked, this time turning around to stare up at him in surprise.

There were few times she could recall him ever using "Gabby" instead of that mocking pet-name of Princess. She never liked it any of those instances. It felt weird and made her wonder and over think things and proved to be very distracting. They both knew neither of them could afford to be distracted. She often suspected he did it on purpose to unbalance her.



His room was for a lack of terms, Spartan. On the one fairly clean shelf stood bottles of every shape and size, some empty some not, and others filled. It was his home. Quiet and devoid of distraction but the girl standing in it now. Here and there a note book lay sometimes, a computer on the desk that hadn't be powered on in those last three months. He made his way towards the bottles chuckling as she tried to defend her movies. "Maybe, but it's sure the reason why I can't stand them woman."

It might not look like home much, but it was his at least. "You never got a taste for the stuff. Trust me, I'm still good for a few more before you have to worry about me," he said with a chuckle and a wink.

"Yes. I did." He poured out two shots placing them between each other on the desk. "Just felt right. Gut instinct." He slid one of the glasses closer nodding down at it, "Try it. For old times sake." It wasn't a question, more like a suggestion, but something was different, his voice was still rough as usual, but something in the edge was softer this time.



Gabby stared down at the proffered glass. It was just one shot. A mouthful. Less than the amount in that miniature bottle she was earlier offering in exchange for information her supposed source didn't have. Damn straight she never developed a taste for it.

Alcohol made her look like crap and feel like crap. The only to ever witness her in such a disheveled state was the same man trying to nudge her down that path again. Her vanity wouldn't have let her live it down if it had been anyone else. But this was Jamisson and she knew and understood he wasn't looking to forge any sort of relationships with anyone. Well, nothing more intimate than someone he could stand to talk shop with, or share food, or even hurl insults at the things she enjoyed.

But she knew him well enough to hear the faint softness in his voice. It was enough to appeal to her sense of nostalgia and that side of her that would always be a sucker for "old time's sakes" moments.

"You're damn lucky I made sure to stock up on water back in my room." She pursed her lip after a reluctant sigh, bracing herself for the onslaught on her taste buds as she gulped the one shot as quickly as she could.

The burn of the alcohol was strong as ever, especially since she was so unaccustomed to it. She slammed the glass back down, giving the man a glare that promised him she was going to drink no more that than one shot.

It had been so long ago, she had handled it poorly, but in all her self doubt and loathing at herself when she took that little bit had been some of the most fun he had ever had. Just talking to someone about nothing for once was one thing he couldn't stand to acknowledge, that he had cared, he did care.

Again they stood in a room, far more dusty then it had been back then. Two drinks between them again. The first time they drank together but this time he only smiled as she clenched her eyes bracing for the shot. His shot remained on the table, he was too busy pulling her into a kiss to care about it, or the glare she had given him. The old times had passed a long time ago.

He didn't care in that moment again, he admitted it, he liked her far more then he should. Every mission they denied it, would fight it when they came back using pet names, maybe a way not to show affection, but to avoid it, to distance it. He didn't care in that moment. She was one of the few reasons he smiled, one of the few people he didn't feel would cost him his life, but maybe she would because for once he cared too much.

But in that room, that room they stood in years ago? It was the safest they might ever be together.


She was about to demand he take his drink, she'd done as he'd ask, fair's fair, and all that jazz. But the next thing she knew his lips were against hers and all coherent thought went out the window. She had not been expecting that. That was the last thing she ever thought he'd do.

But there had to be a reason why she didn't freeze or struggle or try to break free. There had to be a reason why the knitted brows smoothened out, why her eyes closed rather than grow saucer-wide, and why she ended up on tiptoe to lean into the kiss. She could blame the alcohol, it was a good enough excuse.

But she didn't.

Because like him, she knew there was a sense of safety between them. An understanding and awareness and for the longest time a willingness to ignore that elephant in the room whenever they were with other people. She supposed it was going to happen eventually. Like one of those cliche'd scenes that he normally would be rolling his eyes at and declaring how unrealistic things were playing out. She elbowed him hard at the time. She didn't feel like bringing that up for some reason. Funny that.

However, if he was the one to initiate, she was the one to pull away. Face-flushed, pupils dilated, her heart going a mile a minute. "Damn, Jamisson, where'd you learn to smooch like that?" she teased, her voice a little huskier than usual. Probably from both the alcohol and the kiss. More likely the kiss.


She finally pulled away, Jamisson's heart thundered in his chest, it felt like it could burst from confusion, adrenalin rushed through him, he wasn't in danger, but his heart felt otherwise. It was strange to feel like this without a sense of death. Instead a sense of peace and happiness as years of jokes, missions, and everything else came together.

He reached behind her click the door lock, "Don't ask questions you don't need the answer too." He paused smirking, "Maybe one of those bad movies."

The reason didn't matter now, instead he tugged her away, towards the bed he never bothered to make. There was time, there would always be more time, just one more mission and they could take all the time in the world....

With that charming smile of his, Julio pushed away from the doorframe and sat down onto the bed next to Em, lightly placing an arm around her.

"Looks like you're getting ready for quite the night, Mariposita," he observed, "I expected no less. Tomorrow is a big day after all."

He liked that there was at least one other Hunter on this isle who had the same sort of mentality as his own. It made it easy to relate, especially when dealing with those who didn't quite share his beliefs all day. That wasn't the case today of course, but it was nice in general.

Catching the comment Cecil made, Julio tilted his head. It didn't bother him too much, so he just shrugged it off.

"Quite the night indeed."

With a carefully plastic smile, Cecil gave Julio a pat on the back, hissing cheerfully into his ear, "Ta mere suce des ours dans la foret*."

That said, he swept from the room with the look of intent of a man on a mission to find a jar of peanut butter to do horrible things to.

* footnote: "Your mother sucks bears in the forest"