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[He opens his mouth to reply, to let something flippant yet full of sharp edges tumble out, but X’rhun beats him to the punch. His eyes never leave the possessed woman, brow knitting up in faux apologetic caricature as she pouts.]

X’rhun, you’ll break the poor girl’s heart. What kind of gentleman are you supposed to be, exactly?

[Ardyn: not helping. Ardyn: not feeling particularly inclined to help, despite his friend’s declarations. Ardyn: stirring the pot because he can.]

[ What’s the opposite of Rescue? Because X’rhun would very much like to do that right now, if only to buy him a moment to think.

Alas, he hasn’t learned that sort of the spellwork, nor had the Natha gifted it to him ere they up and vanished. He’s just going to have to face this horrible mess like an adult and hope the whole thing doesn’t blow up in his face. (Though he swears he can hear a countdown in the distance.) ]

I don’t even know her!

[ That’s… probably not helping his case. ]

Gods just… give me a moment, all right?

[ With a sigh, he spins the woman around, facing her away from him, his hands still planted firmly on her shoulders. She glances back at him, something terribly unsettling in the motion. Her ghost may not have gotten what it wanted, but it’s sure enjoying the show. X’rhun walks the woman past Ardyn and towards the street proper, giving her a gentle push into the crowd. Before getting swept away like a fish let back into the stream, she turns and plants a final kiss on the tip of X’rhun’s nose.

He shoos her away in earnest then, all too aware of Ardyn’s presence behind him. Why this? Why him? He scrubs a hand over his face as he turns back into the little alcove. ]

I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you I wanted no part in that.

[The issue unfortunately being that, once X’rhun turns around, he’ll only catch sight of Ardyn’s back. The man is sauntering away in the other direction, lifting a hand to give him a rather dismissive little wave as he walks, taking a path that cuts through two buildings via alleyway. He calls back, rather impassively:]

Didn’t you? Well, you can never know what’s going to happen these days, with all the oddities.

[Though that sums up his entire experience with this place in general, doesn’t it?]

Still, you should be more careful for your own sake.

[ X’rhun pauses for a moment when he sees that Ardyn is retreating, unsure of what to make of the gesture at first. He has a gut feeling that, were nothing truly amiss, Ardyn would stay to tease him a bit, if nothing else. The fact that he’s extracting himself is… worrying. ]

Ardyn, wait a moment.

[ He takes off in a jog, hoping to catch up to the retreating figure in the alley. Not that he knows what he’s going to say exactly, but he can’t just let this go as it is. ]

[And into the alleyway he goes, with X'rhun more than welcome to follow. But Ardyn doesn't turn back, doesn't still his step. Only a slight turn of his head to catch the sight of his friend in his periphery.

Out comes a lazy-] Hm?

[ X’rhun does follow him, darting into the alley behind his friend. He jogs until he closes the gap, reaching out to try and catch hold of Ardyn’s sleeve. Sure, he has tools at his disposal to make Ardyn stop walking – Tether and Rescue – but he doesn’t really think it would be helpful at all to use either right now. ]

Would you wait, please? Let me explain.

[X’rhun had the chance to walk away, to let whatever is simmering under the surface recede to its usual pit of Ardyn’s personality. But instead, he follows him, catches up to him, tugs on his sleeve, and so the flip is switched. Isolated as they are, with the walls of the buildings cordoning them in on both sides, it’s easy enough for him to turn on a heel. For him to be the one to grasp at X’rhun forearm, his other hand coming up to his shoulder with the attempt to shove him against the wall, leaning in.

It isn’t an attack — his friend would certainly know if it was — but it isn’t particularly gentle, either. Ardyn is inches close, and gives him a crooked grin that doesn’t even try to reach his eyes.]

Explain what? Are you feeling guilty?

[He knows, of course, that it was nothing. Meant nothing, probably happened randomly at best. But something in Ardyn still stirs, a possessiveness that’s crawls along the edge of danger, making him feel annoyed, patronizing, and cruel — never mind the smile.]

[ Thinking on it, maybe grabbing Ardyn was the wrong move, but here they are now and there’s nothing he can do about it. He doesn’t fight it when Ardyn reels on him, grabbing him and driving him back. He lets out a soft grunt when his back meets the wall. ]

Should I not be? Should I have let you walk away?

[ Even in his current predicament, he feels that would have been a bad idea. Sure, Ardyn can compartmentalize with the best of them, but the whole ordeal would have left a bad taste in X’rhun’s mouth. ]

I think it would've been better if you did.

[But X'rhun wanted to follow, and now here they are. Ardyn's let a little bit of... something out from beneath the usual facade. Something that looks ugly on the surface, because it is, and he knows that it is, but it's hardly stopped him before.]

But you've already committed. And so I feel nigh obligated to say it-

[The half-smile twists itself up like a snake, into something that almost could be labeled as a sneer, teeth showing.] I don't want to see anything like that ever again.

[ X’rhun doesn’t think it would be better in the least, and though he doesn’t say it, there is a stubbornness in his gaze, in the set of his shoulders, that makes his thoughts very apparent.

He wishes he could say he’s surprised by this reaction, but he’s not entirely. There is a dangerous edge to Ardyn’s smile, made all the sharper since he knows well what this man is and what he’s capable of. Jealousy is an ugly emotion on anyone, but with Ardyn, it comes with the promise of something terrible. To his credit, X’rhun doesn’t flinch away from that grin, holding onto whatever misguided trust he has that Ardyn won’t actually hurt him, but he knows he ought to tread with caution – even as the stark realization that Ardyn is jealous sounds like a gong, rattling the inside of his ribcage in a way that he is not sure what it means. ]

You won’t, Ardyn. I promise. I didn’t want to kiss her – she didn’t so much as speak a word to me, and I was taken off-guard. For that, I apologize.

[No reply, not at first, knowing that a lack of words can be just as sharp, just as discomfiting. Placed at the right moment, letting nothing linger, might as well be like a knife against a throat, forced against a delicate pulse.

But he straightens, not keen on torturing X'rhun for longer than necessary, despite the way jealousy bites at his insides, searing through flesh. He regards him for a moment, smile still deadly-sharp, before retorting back.]

I don't think you understand. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are, the how's or the why's. I just don't want to see it again -- you're mine, you know. The next time I'll hardly be as composed as I am now.

[Whether or not that's true, he's sure no one really wants to find out.]

[ Ardyn certainly knows how to build tension. The quiet stretches just a moment too long, and X'rhun has the sensation that he is walking a very fine line. He supposes this was inevitable, getting tangled with a man as dangerous as he knows Ardyn to be. There is a certain amount of patience afforded to X'rhun, things he can probably get away with that no one else can, but this was one step too far. This woke something up, and currently it's bearing its fangs at him.

You're mine.

That should probably bother him, that show of possessiveness, but instead it settles in his chest, a nebulous thing that he doesn't care to examine, alongside the thrumming in his ribs. ]

Is that part of our agreement? That I'm yours?

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