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Whoever thought drinking was an enjoyable past-time clearly needed much better hobbies. Laurence wasn't exactly completely wasted, but his balance was off, and he found himself stumbling even as he forced himself to make his way back to the Pantheon. He had been drinking, had gotten to talking with some of the people there... and then, after a while, his thoughts had turned to the young woman he'd met fairly recently. Alice.

He would be the first to admit that his thoughts were extraordinarily impure--it had to be the influence of the alcohol. The Devil's nectar, Emeric had called it. He could see why. Her legs, were what he was thinking of currently. Long and creamy-pale. All of her skin was, really, and when paired with that sleek, dark hair...

The priest shook his head roughly, slurring a loud curse at himself. He was losing his focus. He was tired. Stressed. That was all. He'd pray for forgiveness later, when he could actually think properly.

He had no idea that by rounding the corner, he was going to make his own life impossibly harder. Laurence froze in his tracks when he saw Alice, and his heart... flipped, or something like it. His throat closed up, and yet, in that moment, he was almost deliriously happy to see her. She was beautiful.

His throat was incredibly dry, and Laurence wished he was not so painfully aware of the alcohol sloshing around in his gut. It made him feel like he wanted to vomit--and that was not the way to impress a young woman. "Evenin'." He slurred quietly, hoping he didn't look half as nervous as he felt. His experience when it came to women was... painfully limited, as far as courting situations went--and why would any sane woman want to involve herself with a man knocking on death's door?

Still, Laurence couldn't deny that his heart was still pounding in a way that was not entirely unpleasant.

"Couldn't... Couldn't sleep?" It was late. Maybe. He didn't know.

"Yeah," His smile was a mixture of relieved and sheepish when she didn't go running off into the gardens to get away from him. Not that she seemed the sort to shy away from any situation. Even if it just meant talking to her for a little while, that'd be enough to satisfy him. For tonight, anyway.

He paused for a moment, debating, then continued. He was too drunk to probably think it over and decide against it. "Tryin' to forget how much time 've got left. Didn't work so well." Not until she'd showed up, anyway. Every second was worth it now.

An actual grin broke out over Laurence's face at that, and he eagerly added his own thoughts on the subject. "Yeah... Chain-reacting, sorta. One thing leads to 'nother and then it just kinda keeps goin' on and on..." Sort of like his rambling. He wasn't aware of it though, rubbing the back of his head.

"No, no, it's okay." He reassured her hastily, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable. "I gotcha. I do that a lot. Like, all the time." Or something. He finally seemed to realize he was talking a lot and shut up, resisting the urge to stuff his hands into his pockets.

"...D....D'ya want to go on a walk?" The priest finally asked, forcing himself to meet her blindfolded gaze. It couldn't hurt to try!

Those few seconds before Alice gave her answer were the most stressful points of his entire life. What if she said no? What if she laughed at him and left? Laurence didn't understand why that would matter... but, somehow, he felt like he was wound up tight. Fortunately, he nearly melted with relief when she said yes, and he bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning like an idiot.

It was easy enough to step beside Alice, the silence filling the space between them as his thoughts tumbled and whirled over what to say next. It was hard when he kept getting distracted by how long her legs were, and he jerked his head upright to keep from staring.

"You're still doin' okay? With all of... this?" He gestured vaguely at the gem set in his chest, hidden by cloth as it was.

"Amen to that." It was a mutter, and his hand dragged briefly over his face, reflecting on everything that had happened to him. Slaughtering his companions, possession by a demon... but no. That was in the past. He'd been forgiven--and he was going to sacrifice All to repent for his sins. It was the best he could do. The only thing he could do.

Somehow, that seemed to help make up his mind.

Hesitantly, carefully, he reached out to brush his fingers against one smooth cheek. "Best... Best kinda weird I've dealt with in a while, though."

It was taking all of his effort to keep his fingertips from trembling, but all of his nerves melted away as her hand smoothly covered his own. He could feel the heat of her face, the softness of her skin, and his shoulders slowly slumped as the tension eased from them. There was the wild impulse to kiss her fluttering in the back of his mind, but Laurence knew that would be going too far. Where these thoughts had come from, he couldn't say, but he'd rather not embarrass himself by demonstrating his lack of kissing skills.

"You're really beautiful." He did manage to say once he'd regained something of his wits.