All in a Day's Work

Kid's always got a lot of work to do

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is anyone active anymore and if so do they want to rp

[cheshdrawsthings]

Tried breaking through my art block with a quick and messy painting of the Kid from Bastion since I started playin it recently

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apropergentlemanthief

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A drop of sense falls into the sea of infatuation that is Zulf’s head at the moment.

“…Probably best,” he mutters, glancing furtively around with a very red face, “If we uh… maybe do that somewhere that isn’t a public park.”

He offers Kid his hand.

“Back… home?”

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Oh, right. The Kid looks around; no one’s here, and he’s never seen anyone else this far out, but he’d rather not take the chance of being caught like this. He gives Zulf’s chest another kiss before letting go of him and taking his hand instead.

“Yeah, let’s go home,” the Kid says, heart jumping to his throat. Home. He never thought he’d say that word again. After coming back to his mama being gone, his house wasn’t a home, it was just an empty shack. But now with Zulf, it’s a home again.

He throws his head back and laughs, just out of joy alone.

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apropergentlemanthief

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Zulf feels a bit like he’s got cotton wool filling up his head, like a stuffed animal. Yeah. Just like those little Pyth toys all the Cael kids have. With their big shiny brown button eyes, just like…

It takes him a while to notice that Kid seems to be expecting something from him. Oh no. Does he expect him to know more about kissing? 

He panics. He thinks back to what the laundress said.

“You silly goose. You don’t know nothin' ‘bout canoodlin’, do ya? Yer real eager, though, aren’tcha. Well, if you care to listen, I’ll share a few pointers…”

You don’t always have to kiss on the lips- that’s one thing he can remember. He gives the kid a kiss on the nose, and the temple, and the jaw. His nerves catch up with him and he backs off, looking bashful.

“Sorry, I… I mean y’know…. I’m a bit new to all of this sorta… thing.”

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The Kid’s still grinning. “S’fine,” he says. “Don’t know much about it, either.”

He did like it when Zulf kissed him other places, though, so he returns the favor by kissing Zulf on the neck. Then he nuzzles his face to Zulf’s chest and gives that a kiss, too. “We can learn together.”

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apropergentlemanthief

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This is utterly unreal. Zulf can’t believe what started as a botched job turned into something so incredible. It’s like a dream. 

He nearly loses his balance at Kid’s request. 

Well, if it is a dream, best make the most of it before its over.

“Hazi!” he answers enthusiastically, before he can stop himself. His face turns a deeper shade of pink as he tries again, this time in the appropriate language, “I mean… Sure!”

No use playing it cool.

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The Kid laughs. Zulf’s so funny when he’s flustered. And cute, really cute. Pulling Zulf down by the shoulder’s again, the Kid stands on his tiptoes and kisses Zulf. He presses his mouth to Zulf’s harder this time, more confident. He did it right the first time, now he really knows what he’s doing.

Except then their noses bump together. He turns his head to the side a little and yeah, that’s better. But where does he go from here? He knows there’s more to kissing, but he’s not sure what else. Zulf has probably kissed someone before, the Kid will let him lead the way.

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apropergentlemanthief

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Zulf’s grin widens until it seems as if it’s trying to escape his face.

“Really?”

He squeezes Kid’s hand unconsciously. He feels like his chest is swelling, fit to burst; his grip on gravity tenuous. 

“No fooling?”

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Squeezing his hand back, the Kid says, “No foolin’. Gonna stay here, with you.”

It’d be easy to get a job, now that the Kid’s done a tour on the Wall. He can make an honest living with Zulf, take care of the both of them. Zulf won’t have to steal anymore. They have his mama’s house, too, so they won’t have to live on the streets. It’ll be good, it’ll be really good.

“Can I... can I kiss you again?”

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apropergentlemanthief

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Before he knows whats happening, he’s being kissed.

Zulf has problems focusing at times like these, so for a good few seconds his mind goes totally blank. When he manages to return to the thinking world, he attempts to speak, only succeeding in making a few raspy squeaking sounds.

He does recover properly a moment later, though, and endeavours to seem as if he’s at all on top of the situation.

“Well!” he says, in his best impression of suavity, “Now I’ll have to visit, won’t I?”

He only stutters a little bit. He’s only slightly crimson.

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The Kid’s not sure how he did on his first kiss, but he’s pretty happy about it. And Zulf seems pretty flustered, which might not be a good thing but it’s pretty funny. The Kid laughs and takes Zulf’s hand. This feeling--he wants this feeling forever.

“Maybe you don’t have to visit,” he says. He bites his lip. Gods, he can’t stop grinning. “Maybe... maybe I’ll stay here.”

He thought he had nothing for him in Caelondia. But now... now he has Zulf.

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apropergentlemanthief

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Zulf blinks in surprise at the mumbling and blushing.

“Uh… you okay? Did I say something?”

He pats the kid gently on the hand, starting to feel a little awkward. It’s because he said love, isn’t it? Not always the easiest word to respond to. He wants to take it back, so the kid will stop freaking out, but at the same time he doesn’t. He keeps his mouth shut. Because he does love Kid.

He loves people easily, and intensely; if he can form a bond with someone, he’ll give it his all to keep it strong. Kid is kind, and generous, and all around likeable. It’s been less than a day, but time isn’t a factor in his choices. Love is one of the few things Zulf can give, rather than take.

If someone shows him love, he’ll show it back. It’s not quite the built-up-romantic-soumate type of love everyone seems to think of first when they hear the word, but it’s sufficient enough that he won’t take it back. 

It’s difficult to explain, even to himself. The only other person who’d ever seemed to understand it was the laundress. But Kid’s pretty different from her. Zulf begins feeling a little panicky. Has he screwed up, big time?

“Er…”

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The Kid takes a deep breath, holds it, and lets it go. This is fine, this is really fine. This is...good?

The Kid puts his hands on Zulf’s shoulders and pulls, gently. “Don’t know much about love or nothin’, but I...”

Words fail him. But he whats? He doesn’t know. He doesn’t think he loves Zulf, but he does like him an awful, awful lot. Words are stupid anyway so he goes to action--standing on his tiptoes, the Kid closes his eyes and very, very gently puts his lips on Zulf’s.

[flightyfinch]

inktober day 29 - who was it that suggested kid shooting down into his bandana like a turtle??? it’s amazing

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apropergentlemanthief

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Zulf is surprised by the sudden contact; his fingers twitch under the kid’s.

He’s got a point. If he gets his ass caught he’ll be in deep shit. At the same time, the idea has a certain appeal to it. The excitement of it all. Sneaking into a forbidden place at the penalty of ones life (or at least freedom) to visit a… hm. 

He chuckles.

“Bit too late for that, I’m afraid,” he says with a small smile, “But I appreciate it. If you don’t want me sneaking around up there, I won’t. It’ll be hard–”

He places his right hand on his breast, face screwed up in an over exaggerated expression of pain and longing.

“–to be separated from one I love! But to keep his mind at ease, I shall stay my mortal passions and remain in the safe bosom of the city…”

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The Kid can’t understand most of what Zulf says (what are mortal passions?) but his face goes bright red when Zulf calls him his love. He’s just joking, right? He was talking funny, so he has to be joking. There’s no way Zulf loves him.

Still, the Kid can’t meet Zulf’s eyes. Jeez. Love. He thought he’d never hear that word again. He wants to suggest to Zulf to try coming on visiting days, maybe he can get in even if he is Ura, but he can’t get out a coherent word and instead just mumbles a bunch of gibberish.

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apropergentlemanthief

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The Kid coughs when Zulf says “just for you.” A feeling he can’t name washes over him, something not bad but still leaves him flustered. But at Zulf’s comment of visiting, he takes a moment to think. He’s certainly seen family visiting and some girlfriends and boyfriends. But…

Shrugging, the Kid says, “Dunno. People visit on family days, but you’re…”

Is it fair to bring up that Zulf’s Ura? He knows he hasn’t been the most accepting of the Ura, but the things he’s heard some others say never sat right with him. They might not even let him enter, in case he’s a spy. The Kid doesn’t think he is, but not everyone would agree with him.

Zulf takes a while to get the implication.

“Foreign. Yeah… Well I never said I was going to climb up there legally, now did I? Funny thing about scofflaws is after a while, pretty much everything they do ends up being a bit underhanded.”

He finishes off his fruit.

“I’m quick on my feet, and stealthy. Nobody’d see. I’d have to case the place first, though… I hear they have security turrets here, now. It’s funny. I’m pretty sure an Ura man invented those.”

He shudders. He’s had more than a few run-ins.

“Those things are cheaters. Programmed to lock right onto you. How’s a man supposed to make a dishonest living with them around?”

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The Kid grabs Zulf’s hand and squeezes. “They’ll throw you in jail if you sneak in. Seen it happen before--ain’t pretty.”

There’s been more than one Ura who’s tried to sneak into the Walls before, ones who didn’t have enough money to pay their way in. The Kid’s never been sure what they did to those Ura in the jail, that was the Marshal’s job, but he can’t imagine it was very nice.

“Don’t want you getting hurt, ever.”

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apropergentlemanthief

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The Kid frowns. “Gotta be careful. Don’t want you getting hurt.” He’s gonna be gone for a long time, but he can’t stand the thought of Zulf getting hurt. They could meet up again one day, maybe. He wants Zulf to be around once he gets off the Wall.

“‘Sides,” he continues, pushing those thoughts out of his head, “farmers ‘round here never minded if I took vineapples. You should be fine.”

He shrugs, then smiles.

“I’ll be as careful as I can. Just for you.” 

He takes another few bites of vineapple.

“Really? That’sh great!” he says through a mouth full of flesh, “I’ll remember that fer later.”

He’s quiet for a moment, frowning at the rest of his fruit.

“Hey, Kid… What’s it like up there, on the Walls? If you don’t mind me asking. I mean, on a scale of one to ten, how tight is the security? …I mean don’t get the wrong idea, I wouldn’t go rummaging around up there but…”

How to phrase this.

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The Kid coughs when Zulf says “just for you.” A feeling he can’t name washes over him, something not bad but still leaves him flustered. But at Zulf’s comment of visiting, he takes a moment to think. He’s certainly seen family visiting and some girlfriends and boyfriends. But...

Shrugging, the Kid says, “Dunno. People visit on family days, but you’re...”

Is it fair to bring up that Zulf’s Ura? He knows he hasn’t been the most accepting of the Ura, but the things he’s heard some others say never sat right with him. They might not even let him enter, in case he’s a spy. The Kid doesn’t think he is, but not everyone would agree with him.

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apropergentlemanthief

[apropergentlemanthief-blog]

Zulf sticks out his tongue.

“Superior technique! But I ain’t got time for sucking!” he takes about eight more bites, once again bringing to mind an anklegator. 

He pauses to look slightly sheepish and lick his sticky lips.

“Just a habit of someone who’s usually on the run. One of these days I’m going to choke. It won’t be a Marshal, it won’t be an angry farmer, it’ll be a bite of fruit that does me in.”

He chuckles.

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The Kid frowns. “Gotta be careful. Don’t want you getting hurt.” He’s gonna be gone for a long time, but he can’t stand the thought of Zulf getting hurt. They could meet up again one day, maybe. He wants Zulf to be around once he gets off the Wall.

“‘Sides,” he continues, pushing those thoughts out of his head, “farmers ‘round here never minded if I took vineapples. You should be fine.”

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apropergentlemanthief

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“Great!”

Zulf slowly carves the melon-like fruit in half. His knife isn’t long enough to reach all the way through, but with enough carving and twisting, he manages to pop the fruit into two pieces.

He peels back the skin and hands one to the kid, grinning. Then he takes a large bite out of his own. The juice runs down his face and he runs the back of his hand over his chin, still beaming. Vineapples always put him in a good mood, but especially when they’re alongside company.

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The Kid grins as he bites into his own half of the vineapple. Unlike Zulf, he doesn’t get all over your face.

“Gotta suck the juice out first,” he tells Zulf. He sinks his teeth in for another bite, sucks the juice out, and finishes the bite. “Like that.”

Still, with Zulf having juice all over his face, he’s overcome with the strange urge to wipe it up for him. But that’d be weird, so he doesn’t.

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apropergentlemanthief

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“Great!” 

Zulf is delighted to be able to spend more time with Kid. He likes him. Rather a lot.

He picks his way alongside the kid, hand still in his, inhaling the smell of the outdoors.

When they arrive at the vineapples, Zulf barely waits for the kid to stop speaking. He’s good at harvesting them by now. He squats, squeezes the thick stem with his knees and pops the huge, spiky fruit off the top and catches it in his arms.

He lugs it back to the kid, beaming.

“Look how green it is! Hang on,” he pops out his little knife and begins to peel away the skin, “Wanna share, or shall I fetch you another one?”

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The Kid’s impressed with how fast Zulf is able to get a vineapple down. It took him years of practice to get that good--Zulf must eat a lot of vineapples.

“Like to share it with you, if ya don’t mind,” the Kid says. He wonders if he can hold Zulf’s hand while they eat it. Is that a thing you can do? Or do you stop holding hands while you eat? All of this is so new and confusing.

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apropergentlemanthief

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“Pythmas is a big deal here,” he says to Zulf’s disappointment. “My favorite time of the year.”

Everything is good on Pythmas. Everyone’s nice, and the Pantheons give out free food, and his mama knits him a scarf… If only he could go back to that.

But now’s not the time to think about that. He looks to Zulf and smiles at his excitement. It’s really cute. “Place we met, actually. Liked going up there alone on the roof.” That’s the opposite direction, though, and he’s already been there with Zulf, so they can’t go there. “Nice spot with a lotta vineapple trees ahead, if ya wanna go there.”

“Pythmas…” he isn’t completely familiar with the holiday. He’s fairly certain something like it is celebrated in the Terminals, but…

“Oh!” Zulf looks around in surprise, “It’s much different in the day time!”

He grins widely at the mention of Vineapples.

“Yes! I mean… if you have time.”

There’s nothing Zulf loves more than a ripe, juicy vinaepple. They’re huge, and sweet, and best of all, free!

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“We got time,” the Kid says with a grin. The recruitment office is going to be open all day, they can dillydally.

They walk farther down and the Kid leads Zulf down a winding dirt path. As they go the City fades away to farm land, acres of green grass and vegetables. A few animals mill about in far off pens with mechanical Pyth bulls standing guard. The Kid had always dreamed of saving up a little money and buying himself a house out here. Maybe he’ll do that when he gets back.

Stopping in front of a grove of trees, the Kid gestures towards them. “Want a vineapple?”

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apropergentlemanthief

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Masons certainly did have their holidays, but nothing they got to go home for, or anything. Maybe holidays are just more important in the Terminals. The Kid wonders if the Miners get free alcohol like the Masons do on Lemaign Day.

“Don’t really celebrate holidays so much here,” the Kid tells Zulf. “Some people go to Pantheons, but not a lot.”

They come to a fork in the road. Left is a straight shot to the recruitment office, and right is a longer way, through one of Caelondia’s many parks. The Kid steers them both towards the right.

“Huh.” Zulf looks rather disappointed. Festivals and holidays were wonderful days- not only because everything was bright and festive, but also because everyone always carried an overstuffed purse.

He goes along with the change in direction easily, allowing himself to be lead. He smiles as greenery begins to surround them.

“Ooh, the scenic route, huh? I love parks. Look at all this green!” he beams around at the foliage, “What about you, Kid? Whats your favourite spot in the whole city?”

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“Pythmas is a big deal here,” he says to Zulf’s disappointment. “My favorite time of the year.”

Everything is good on Pythmas. Everyone’s nice, and the Pantheons give out free food, and his mama knits him a scarf... If only he could go back to that.

But now’s not the time to think about that. He looks to Zulf and smiles at his excitement. It’s really cute. “Place we met, actually. Liked going up there alone on the roof.” That’s the opposite direction, though, and he’s already been there with Zulf, so they can’t go there. “Nice spot with a lotta vineapple trees ahead, if ya wanna go there.”