groundzeroes | IC Inbox

( if she has to spend 20 years in Avalon, maybe she'll get there. but that isn't the case yet, and the bitterness largely comes from being locked away from the two people who she did allow closer than arm's length.

... never mind. if she keeps letting her thoughts drift to Marc and Jay, she'll never get to sleep. )

Assume so. ( did they even have the wheel back then? the podcast didn't go over that. ) Point is... people need people. ( yes, she's aware of the irony of this statement coming from her, but she's particularly aware of how comforting the company of another is after her time away. ) Might say it's for resources or whatever but...

( oof, hold up. she's gonna need more wine if she goes down this alley. she is not talking this deep on a third of a bottle. that's more an empty bottle conversation. )

Ugh. Y'get what I'm saying.

( which is, how would these ancient people from times before TVs, phones, or even a bike (probably) know they needed these resources from places nearly 200 miles away.

they can't have wanted that when they went out that far.

they wanted... something else. to know what and who else is out there. )

[Rei laughs then, surprising himself enough to blow out the lighter he was trying to light his cigarette with.]

Can't believe I'm hearing that from you of all people. [Again-- it's a dig in syntax, but his voice is too fond for it to have any bite to it.]

Guess there's still some idealism in you yet, huh, Kate-chan?

( she could argue the point more than simply flipping him off, but it isn't that important. what she said was true and applies even to her, despite her best attempts to seem otherwise.

besides, she's drank just enough to admit ignorance on one ever present, niggling little detail. )

The hell does "Kate-chan" even mean?

( because the only time she's ever heard the word "Chan" is in regards to surnames, and even she knows that can't be it. )

Ah? [That's right... that part doesn't quite translate, does it! It's been a while since someone asked; he'd nearly forgotten.]

It's your name, of course. [Snort.] With an honorific attached.

[HES NOT EXACTLY BEING HONORABLE THOUGH]

( no shit and here she thought her name was Bob. )

What, you're calling me "Miss Kate"? ( she glances at him out of the corner of her eye and takes another drink. ) ... Weirdo.

( does this mean she should be calling him "Mr. Rei"? or worse, "Sir Rei"? )

You're not wrong... [On either count, lmao.]

But it's more like... [He swirls what's left in the wine bottle and tilts his head to look at her, expression coy.] 'Cause you're a pretty little thing.

( well, he's right, even if she'd argue being called little. ~~she could still snap his neck if she felt like it, tyvm.~~ Kate turns her head in Rei's direction, allowing silence to reign for a moment while her eyes linger, just a bit too obviously, on places that are not his face.

... not that it's the first time she's done that, either. he's hard to miss at the gym. )

Guess everyone's little when you're built like that.

( she allows herself one more glimpse and takes another drink from her bottle. )

[Rei's chuckle is deep in his chest, just a low rumble. He's seen that glance from her before... but honestly, it's probably hard not to get an eyeful when his chest is usually right at eye level for her.] Glad to know you've been looking.

[Tilting himself towards her Rei leans back on one hand, the other holding his cigarette between his fingers.]

You don't have to be sneaky about it, you know.

[what's a little sexual tension between friends?]

( she's doing the city a service. does anyone really need Rei walking around with an even bigger ego because ladies are checking him out even in that outfit? )

You should pay more attention.

( rolling onto her side, Kate props herself up on an elbow as she speaks. true, she has been reasonably covert with her glances, but never let things like the reality of a situation get in the way of a flirty dig. )

Heh, sorry. Maybe I was indulging in a little peeping myself.

[With Kate lying on her side, Rei lets his eyes settle on the curve of Kate's waist and hips before he meets her eyes again. Blatant.]

( admittedly, the leggings and sports bra combination was pulled on with regard for nothing more than what was comfortable and in reach, but the way it clings to her body and frames her abs... well, clearly that's working too.

first things first, though, is doing away with the dregs of this wine, leaning back slightly as she tips her head back and lets the last of it roll down her throat.

enjoy that view, Rei, because it's a particularly good one. )

That all you plan on indulging in?

[That's an invitation if Rei's ever heard one. And seen, honestly; Kate's languid pose is enticing, an easy allure he's not about to deny.

Cigarette abandoned Rei leans over her, framing her body between his arms. One elbow bends, bringing him closer, close enough to feel her breath on his face.]

Come here.

( ah.

well that was more swift than she anticipated. and leaves her in this half trapped position that has a few ways of escaping, none of which would particularly favour the course of events she'd like to happen right now.

(is it a smart decision? probably not. does it even crack her top five of bad decisions? not by a mile.)

there's a moment of nothing, dark eyes flicking from the space between their chests to his face, sharp despite the booze running through her, calculating moves just in case. (always just in case.) the heady scent of cigarettes wrapping around her, and it's suddenly so much warmer with him blocking out most of the night air. )

Am I a dog? ( the affront in her tone is little more than superficial, words perfunctory and easily betrayed by the way her free arm snakes up around his neck and pulls him in for a kiss. )

[Rei does not bother with a comeback; Kate's lips keep him from needing one. Her defensive quips are cute enough, but right now he'd prefer her mouth be occupied with his instead.

Kate's arm presses against his neck with well-defined muscle. Something about it is satisfying, a pleasant weight putting him right where she wants him. This kind of vulnerability is much easier than the kind they'd skated by just before, he thinks; perhaps that's true for the both of them.]

...Well, it did work...

[Okay, so maybe he did have a retort to murmur against her after all.]

( his vulnerability is much more pleasant than the previous edition, that's true. she's still not fully comfortable like this, and there's a small voice in the back of her mind making comments about how drinking on a roof and fucking a friend is the kind of thing that should have been left behind in adolescence, but she's never been one for paying that voice much mind.

too sensible. and she doesn't feel like being sensible tonight. )

Would have happened anyway.

( generally, when you roll on top of a girl, she's either going to kiss you or knee you in the dick, so. kisses are the better option. the softer option. the one which results in her hands finding edges of clothing and curling into them, holding him still as she arches upwards. that particular scent, taste of cigarette smoke mixed with cool night air is offset by the sharp tang of cheap wine and the warmth of his breath, her lips parting as her knuckles brush, quite deliberately, against the bare skin just above where her fingers dig into his collar. )

Ahh, of course. [Rei chases Kate's breath, taking advantage of her open mouth, his sentence left half finished.

The hand Rei's not balanced on follows the curve of Kate's back, tracing out her spine. She's so much smaller than him... his hand, splayed wide, covers so much of her skin, cool from lying on the hard surface of the roof.

When they part Rei's grin returns, sly as always.]

Kate-chan doesn't like being told what to do.

( she's fine with that. fine with silence (but for the distant noises of things and people who are not them, a low din melted into the background, irrelevant but ever present) in exchange for kisses and the subtle flush of warmth provided by the existence of another body within her space.

people need people, she'd said earlier, and that is universally true. even she feels that keening ache of isolation when there's nothing but herself and the wilderness. or when there's nothing but herself and her apartment, chores or weather confining her to a small box for unforeseen hours.

here and now, the world is just them, just two people in need of... orgasms. distractions.

connections, tethering them back to earth for whatever purposes they need to be. his hand is an anchor when it presses against her spine, slips past the scant fabric there and brushes over old scars until his fingertips catch - whether incidentally or not - the deepest part of the curve and get rewarded with a particular little gasp against his lips that breaks the kiss.

if he's looking hard enough, he may just notice a tinge of pink dusting the high points of her cheeks. )

Usually... ( ah, god it's effort to keep her voice from going too breathy when his hand is splayed right there, dancing along a sensitive expanse of skin and throwing another dimension of clarity on the topic of just how small she is in comparison. ) ... I'm the one giving them out.

( it's much more fun that way. )

That so? [It's so cute to see Kate unravel, even if it's just a little. Her voice is always so curt, so irritated... hearing it take on another timbre at his hands is addicting. He wants more— wants to relish every sound, every expression, every crack that forms in her facade.

Rei pulls her close, body to body, fingers pressing into the pliant muscle at the small of her back. His voice is low, smooth.]

Then tell me what you want.

( she'd be irritated right now if it didn't feel so damn good. he's too pleased with himself, but the way his fingers dig into her skin has heat pooling low in her belly and it earns a soft hiss of air and her hand reaching up to tangle in his hair with a single firm tug. )

You need to get off me first.

( there's a few things she has in mind, ideas which have lingered on nights alone and distracted her from time to time when they run into each other, but given their current location... well. certain things are tried and true. they work for a reason, especially when certain people are too large for their own good.

not that she's naming names here. )

["Pleased with himself" is perhaps the perfect description of Rei. He feels pleasantly warm, partly from the alcohol and partly from the arousal; Kate's body against him is solid and grounding, a physical comfort in the here-and-now. It's a nice change from... whatever he was mulling over, before. All other circumstances have fallen away.

He chuckles lowly at the surly delivery of her request, though. Ah, there she is.]

Yeah, all right.

[Rei steals one more kiss before finally rising from his position. The motion is languid, slow, like a big cat at rest.

He glances up at the large tree that makes up the corner of Phoenix Roost's infrastructure. Its canopy stretches overhead, branches arching down to filter the view of the roof; sighing, he scoots a little further under its cover, then turns his piercing gaze back to Kate.

That lazy grin of his is firmly affixed as always. Well?]

( well, he's more obedient than she expected. or perhaps just more curious. that's not a bad thing, just something she's going to file away in the back of her mind. she props herself back up on her elbows and shifts onto her feet in one smooth movement, watching him rather than the architecture of the Roost like he's something to sink her claws into.

(perhaps he is.)

she doesn't make her way over immediately, thumbs hooking under the waistband of her leggings, quickly doing away with both them and her shoes, leaving them behind with the empty bottles and the half-eaten pizza. her steps, for once, are slow and deliberate things, a simple but effective show, hips swaying as the low moonlight illuminates things just enough to show off the lines of ink which curve over her thigh and up to her hip, where an oddly drawn little cat has decided to slumber for the night.

it's only as she (finally) settles into Rei's lap that Kate reaches up and tugs her hair out of the bun it had been thrown up into on the way here, damp curls falling over her shoulders as she grabs him by the collar and pulls him into one more kiss. )

That's better.

[Rei watches with undisguised appetence as Kate approaches. Dinner and a show? She's spoiling him, really.

He sighs as she slides atop him, the weight of her a satisfying pressure. As h kisses her one hand smooths up her thigh, thumb squeezing gently into the dip of muscle; the other curls into a lock of hair, tucking it behind her ear. He's only seen her with her hair down once before, now that he thinks about it. (And that was a much less savory situation.)]

You should wear this down more often.

( she'd deny that. clearly it's just a little bit of fun, a tease to see how he'd react. entirely selfish choices.

(of course, she's never been that great at being honest about her motivations.)

it's easy to get lost in the kiss, to let her hands wander down to buttons and unhook them lazily as the heat stirs deep inside her, his fingers against her thigh likely nothing but encouraged by the muffled noise she makes against his lips and the way her hips grind down against him.

that feels--

she exhales, the kiss breaking as fingers in her hair go in unexpected directions, down untrodden soft ground which stains her cheeks a frustrating shade of warm pink. (embarrassing.) )

You try running like that.

( the words are murmured back in the space between them, a distraction from unfamiliar ground, and Kate knows well that it's a lame excuse. even she doesn't run everywhere. but it's a response, something that pulls her away from the sharp realisation that she's far more comfortable with claws and teeth than the simple push of a strand of hair. )

[Oh? Is she... shy? Embarrassed? Whatever it is, it's a rare look. Rei can't help the voiceless chuckle that escapes him. For all of Kate's grouchiness, it's fun to see her crack an expression of something more vulnerable....

Ah, but she griped at him to change the subject, didn't she. Sure, he'll follow along.]

Maybe some other time. Bit busy.

[Rei grips her waist and rolls his hips languidly into hers.]

( your eyesight is failing you, old man. clearly. because she is not, cannot be, so easily knocked off kilter, even if the object trying to do so is really rather attractive, in his own way, and quite strong, what with those hands and--

ahem. right, not being knocked off kilter. that's where she was. not being distracted by the warmth which rolls through her body with the movement of his hips, but instead letting it spur her on, tipping her head and seeking out the spot where his jaw and neck meet to graze lips and teeth over skin in a brief, fluttering touch. a hum rolls loose at his words, thoughtful and almost a little bit amused. he is a little preoccupied, huh?

and it's about to get a whole lot more distracting.

her hands leave his shirt half undone and drop lower still, blindly searching for buttons or zippers, whatever is standing in the way of the brush of skin against skin. the rooftop bites into her knees but the pain is easily ignored, fading into the background in favour of her mouth against his collarbone and shoving fabric out of the way until she's satisfied. )

Now-- ( purred out between kisses which lead her back to his jaw, leaning in closer to nip his earlobe and continue speaking. ) ...were talking about how I want to ride you.

( well, they weren't, but he did ask what she wanted. and that is the same thing it always is:

a distraction. )

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irreconcilably curses this thread ☠

👀💦

🍆🍆🍆

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throws this tag into the ether and goes to confession

(proZD voice) oh they fuckin

at least i made the good decision of uploading all her ho icons

in the nick of time!!! dklksdsdlfsdf

the thirst always knows. i hate that they're going to snark their way through this.

Would you expect anything less 🤪

I mean no but good lorde

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Sorry about the soft in this trash thread

kate is cute....

nope she's still trash

cute trash...

you know only a fragment of the cuteness i can create

😳!

😘

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did i need half a bottle of wine to deal with these two? maybe.

method rping lol

always. today's choice: rosé cider

tfw i can only write sober (screams)

don't worry i'll get drunk enough for both of us.