lvdygrim·:
oh. honestly, it wasn’t an answer she knew to expect. for him to simply .. agree like that, was kind of marvelously flooring. in a nice way. as stated, her birthday was still a couple days out. and while she was insanely dramatic about it all and may have absolutely cursed the very thought of doing anything of the kind, waiting until the day of wouldn’t have actually killed her. it’d probably put her off of wanting to see him until the day, which would be a different sort of struggle in all actuality, but it wouldn’t result in her physical death. the surprise seems to color her features momentarily before the archaeologist appears to recover properly in the seconds to pass, noting his words with her usual tone.
“i’ll be here. .. not killing him.” despite whatever temptations lay present, naturally. mostly due to a petty level of disgust for the time the man had stolen, but that was unimportant now. .. yup.
just as soon as she might wave simon off in expectation of his leave however, mimi doesn’t hear the door as soon as she might expect. instead, she feels simon’s eyes on her as she moves towards the would-be prisoner to ascertain what she might do with him next. fearful he’d changed his mind or that he simply didn’t trust her to keep her word, the woman’s shift in gaze moves towards the door at the very moment simon makes his actual leave, barely catching his eye. it was another one of those things that didn’t offer easy explanation or reasoning; it was merely a habit, perhaps. something that happened between them more often than she actually knew, lately. and just as she might think to truly question it, he seemed to disappear. as usual. this time right through the entrance.
and while she knew it was definitely her fault that he’d left at all, there was the hope he’d be back much sooner, a sort of emptiness filling his absence despite the unwanted guest still around. with a hand still on the cuffs and a thought to drag said guest on the balcony to dangle helplessly for a quick laugh thwarted by her supposed promise and a need to keep attention to a minimum, mimi opts for another alternative: a linen closet. cramped and dark and .. mostly soundproof on account of the thicker fabrics present there already. pretty perfect if you asked her.
Out in the hallway, Simon rubbed the wrist that he freed from the handcuffs. As he’d left Mimi’s room, Simon knew he’d managed to catch her eye the second before he turned to close the door.
He hoped Mimi didn’t think he’d been stalling for time. Or gawking. Because neither had been the case. Even as he stood in the hallway, he considered inviting Mimi to join him and leave his prisoner-slash-work-assignment behind, but immediately thought the better of it - his flat wasn’t in the best shape and by bringing Mimi back with him, well, that would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it?
Although Simon went well over the speed limit, he couldn’t arrive home soon enough. He knew Mimi well enough to know she didn’t want to be kept waiting. Within the vegetable drawer of his refrigerator ( the least checked hiding spot for grocery goblins interested in milk and chicken and a drawer Simon knew Han would never look in ), Simon procured a box small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.
Simon always grew nervous when it came to giving gifts. Both Min and Han were easy to shop for. A family picture they could conceal, new blades, scavenger hunts to test their wits. But Mimi was another story entirely.
He hoped she liked his gift.
It still took him longer than he would’ve wanted to return to her flat. Waiting for the lift to take him to her floor felt like ages. And, despite the fact that he’d only just been over minutes ( or a half hour, give or take ) ago, Simon still made a point to knock on her door. ( Han could surely barge into Simon’s flat whenever he liked. And Simon always made himself comfortable in Min’s bar, but he didn’t quite know how Mimi would take to him simply walking in. So yes, he still preferred to knock ).
Despite the fact that he’d taken the elevator, he still felt out of breath by the time Mimi called him in. He trusted she’d kept his job safe when, upon entering, he didn’t immediately see the handcuffed man he’d brought in. Instead, Simon held out the box he kept in his hand. “Let’s sit down so you can open it, yeah?” He suggested. “I...I hope it was worth the wait...”












