swallowed all my pride

[temsik]

[Ah, sweet freedom. He'll never get tired of it. Stepping out into the spring sun, he can feel its faint heat soaking into his suit. Somewhere under this same sky are the people he hurt all those years ago. Having served his time, he's started to forgive himself a tiny bit at a time. A couple weeks into his new life, he's found himself settling back into mundane things, like shopping. He hasn't made a huge purchase, but he tucks the paper bag protectively beneath his elbow all the same, and heads for the center of town.

He dodges a crazy hippie with a bad hat and walks to the payphone. A couple clinks of change later, he rings up a certain someone's house.]

Jowd, it's me. Tell Sissel I'm at the park. [A pause.] Thank you.

[And that's it. Leaning against the back of a bench, arms crossed, all he can do is wait.]

Comments

[temsik]

[... Yeah, it's complicated. It's not that he hates Detective Jowd, but he'd feel so out of place. It would be better if he just didn't bother. He might feel trapped, or worse, someone might... remember something.

It's just better if he doesn't. Serving in prison is one thing, surrounding himself with the people he deliberately hurt and killed is another.]

Dogs and cats can live together just fine, especially if they're raised together. But if you run, he might want to chase you.

[He smiles fondly. Don't mind the way he adjusts that bandana-- he wants to make sure it doesn't fall off. And God forbid someone try to /change it/. Yomiel would throw a fit.]

It sounds like you have a good home.

[themystery]

[ Sissel stretches his neck out both in an attempt to get more scritches and also to give better access to fixing the bandana. It's basically his favorite possession ever, so he doesn't mind Yomiel trying to keep it pristine. ]

They're good to me there. Kamila especially likes to spoil me.

[ What little girl wouldn't be attached to a foreverkitten? ]

You should call more often. I mean, you could write... but that isn't especially helpful to me.

[temsik]

[He finishes adjusting the bandana, then rewards Sissel with a scritch right beneath his chin.]

You deserve to be spoiled.

[Seriously, this cat is like the savior of the universe. The universe that encompasses everything that ever mattered to Yomiel, that is. Selfish and short-sighted as it might be, that's the truth.

He smirks a little at the suggestion.]

I meant to, but things got busy. I never figured that planning a wedding would be this much work.

[themystery]

I always have been.

[ He says it with a notable smartass tone... but also some gentle acknowledgment. You did right by him, Yomiel, don't even think otherwise. You dope. ]

When is it? My invite must have gotten lost in the mail.

[temsik]

[He's still struggling with that, even if Sissel's forgiven him. The initial reaction is to disagree, to feel bad, to apologize. It'll come with time, maybe.

But he doesn't argue, and ignores the bittersweetness in the tightening of his lips.]

I didn't send you one because I thought you'd just sit on it. [Since you can't read or anything.] It's July 16th, behind the church.

[themystery]

And now you've deprived me of prime sitting material. Jowd won't even let me sit on his files, can you believe it? [ Because those are police cases, Sissel. ]

I'll be there.

[ Wait. ]

Unless... She's not allergic or anything, is she?

[temsik]

[Oh, cat. He looks amused, but doesn't argue.]

No. We'd talked about getting a pet before. [It just never happened. Yomiel thought it was too much work, and he didn't really have the time. And with everything falling down around his ears...

... Well, that was a long time ago. He definitely doesn't mind, now.]

Mind the fur, though. She'll be wearing white.

[themystery]

I'll be on my best shedding behavior. [ Good thing if you ever get a cat it won't be a smartass like this one, Yomiel. One is clearly enough, am I right? ]

What kind of pet were you thinking, anyway? Not a pomeranian, I hope.

[ One Missile is enough. ]

[temsik]

[He doesn't mind Sissel despite the sass. He's glad his best friend doesn't mind being immortal. It wasn't something that he'd enjoyed, personally.]

She wanted a Labrador, but I wanted a cat. I felt like wasn't home enough to train a puppy.

[One Missile is almost too many.]

[themystery]

[ There's some definite benefit to having a loving family take care of him while he's like this, and even when they're gone he can't imagine that he's going to be left alone. It was a very different situation for Yomiel when he was immortal. ]

Where do you go if you're not with her?

[ Remember, Yomiel, your ten years together were good but you weren't exactly stretching your programmer muscles amidst all that REVENGE!!1 plotting. ]