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[sunmon]

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[sunmon]

of course you are
fine. be ready to go this evening. i'll come fetch you.

[morozova]

Shall I wait for you at Venia?

[sunmon]

if you'll still be there
i can meet you at your present apartment just as well.

[ and they are going into the down, after all. she isn't quite ready to see vanessa and the darkling in the same room again yet. ]

[morozova]

The present apartment, then.

( he doesn't tell her to be careful because he knows better. )

[sunmon]

it's closer, anyway.

[ though the mere fact of him relenting easily makes her blood boil, still. it makes him sound indifferent to any few moments she gives him of her time. she hates the notion that he is more important to her than she is to him simply by warrant of how much he's hurt her. it means he still, even now, has power over her that she doesn't want to give him. ]

[morozova]

Relatively.
The newer place is closer to the market here.

[sunmon]

is that all?

[ she can't quite believe that he's leaving this at the apartment request, with no mention of tumenalia. no urge to dangle it over her head. believing her luck would require believing he's serious about his commitment to distance. ]

[morozova]

I don't know.
Is there more?

[sunmon]

not on my end.

[ stubborn, teeth gritted. ]

[morozova]

Then, unless there's something particular you feel like we must discuss, it can wait until this evening.

( because whatever she's stewing on will have likely boiled over thoroughly by then. )

[sunmon]

[ the little ellipsis that alerts him she's typing lights up. and up. and up. for quite some time. she types and erases a number of frustrated tirades. ]

fine.

[morozova]

Fine.

[sunmon]

[ her frustration stews over hours. grappling with itself. it feels impossible to tell if she's inventing things to hate about him or if he's deliberately pissing her off by acting so cavalier. but she is tired of being so much more invested in him than he is in her. in some ways, it makes her feel like she is his pet still, whether she's kneeling at his feet or not.

the best revenge would really be not to care at all, but she doesn't know how to do that. despite this, she arrives at the door of his apartment trying very hard to present herself as such. hands tucked in her navy coat's pockets after she's knocked on the door, impatient but not angry. scowling at the squatters in the hall instead of at his door. ]

[morozova]

( at least he doesn't make her wait.

if pressed, he would insist that it's because he prefers to spend as little time at the apartment as possible. this is the truth, of course, but it's only really part of it. the actual truth is that this is the first time they've been together in person since tumenalia, and while he has no idea how to navigate that he also isn't about to let a little thing like awkwardness and uncertainty keep him from seeing her. )

Thank you for not keeping me waiting.

[sunmon]

I think we'd both prefer to simply get this over with.

[ though that doesn't explain the flicker of something conflicted in her mouth, the way her eyebrows briefly knit together before she forces them to relax. he has never been this gracious, certainly not unprompted.

she steps out of the doorway to make room for him to exit. ]

[morozova]

( he inclines his head in acknowledgement, then pulls the door shut behind him and locks it. the key is dropped into his jacket pocket and then he extends a hand, palm up. )

Have you ever been to the Square here?

[sunmon]

No. I don't make a habit of lingering here.

[ she frowns at his hand. then, deciding it will do them more good to look the part of the happy dominant and submissive than not, reluctantly slides her hand into his. she leads the way, though, back to the stairs and out of the building. ]

Is that where the new place is?

[morozova]

Sensible. ( his mouth pulls up briefly at the corners, their fingers tangling together, palm to palm. there's something comforting about this, simple as it is. ) Even without the dangers it's hardly picturesque.

But it grows on you eventually. ( like a fungus. )

Yes. Near the market.

[sunmon]

You can't possibly expect me to believe you're happy down here.

[ not the man who would be king. ]

[morozova]

Not happy, no, but I have a far better idea of what I'm dealing with here.

( and he's made a sufficient impression on the local gangs that he's been largely left unmolested. )

And the food is better.

[sunmon]

Than Ravka, certainly.

[ she notices the lack of people watching them. the same group of gang members that had been eyeing her on her way in stay occupied in their card game as she walks with aleksander.

it rankles her a bit. she and jess had cloistered themselves in the delicto office away from this same element, but aleksander has merely made an impression. so it's with a frown on her face that she finishes, ]

But not better than the Up. You obviously just haven't sampled widely.

[morozova]

You've never eaten Fjerdan, clearly. I assure that pickled herring doesn't compare to sour ram's testicles or fermented shark by a considerable margin.

( no wonder the witch hunters are so miserable. )

But, no. I confess sampling the food from the Up wasn't ever a priority.

[sunmon]

And chocolate cake is better than either.

[ how long had it been since ravka had reasonable access to things like cocoa and sugar in the quantities people used it here? for saint's sake, they put chocolate sauce on their bodies. ]

Especially if made by experts.

[morozova]

You must be spoiled for choice, then.

( the up must be spoiled for choice when it comes to pastry chefs and confectionery. the place trades in decadence and overindulgence. )

I don't suppose you've found somewhere that makes decent honey cake?

[sunmon]

Sure. Valentina's by the park stop on the train.

[ she had gone recently, in fact, while gift shopping. it turns out sweets and liquor make excellent presents. ]