[ while ryuu wishes jamil did not have a point, he does, in fact, have a point. conflict passes over his expression, but it's not like he can just up and bolt in the middle of the grocery store. any physical activity feels like it might send him crashing over a hurdle he's trying his best to keep from approaching in the first place...
exhaling, the closeness makes him feel as though his body is a furnace, burning on its own heat. but the lack of touch means he's relatively calmer, motions as easy to read as an open book. 'look, don't touch' seems to be the winning combination so far. ]
Yeah, okay. That far is enough, I'm sure...
[ and considering how poor he is at being cagey, he wonders if he should just come clean. obvious in chewing over his own words, he offers: ]
This might be forward, but once we're outside, I'll tell you what's happening.
[ better him take the fall for it, right? right. ]
[It's a game of finding the exact place to stand. He's close enough that they're obviously a unit but far enough away that Ryuu doesn't shove him to re-assert his space. It was a bit more difficult to lead someone in a direction without touching them but it was hardly impossibly. With a short gesture, he's leading the two of them to the front of the store.]
... forward?
[That's the first thing that really gets Jamil thinking on the right track. After all, people only said they were being forward when they were imposing into the other person's comfort. And that sort of thing...]
[... was it?...]
You don't have to tell me anything you're uncomfortable with. [Well, not as long as he can figure it out himself. Either way, he tries to play the picture of an understanding and kind stranger.]
[ having the word repeated back to him makes him aware of how it sounds. was that even the right thing to say? he supposes he'll soon find out. following along, ryuu is acutely aware of every sensation sweeping his body. the shifting of his clothes over his chest and legs, the dizzying warmth trying to push its way out through his skin by force. even his throat feels tense, making him have to concentrate on swallowing.
eyes on the ground as if to plot out his footsteps, he fidgets with his sleeve. ]
I think it'd be better to say what's going on, at the risk of making you uncomfortable...
[ his voice has ventured low and soft, clearly contemplating his life choices. ]
[There were a lot of ways that phrasing could go. It's not as if Jamil can answer, "actually, if you're poisoned, I'm used to that." Still, that's not the sort of thing that would go hand in hand with being forward.]
[(Although, internally, he snorts a bit at the idea of "pardon me if this is too forward, but I've been poisoned.")]
I see. Right, there is a value in honesty.
[say the absolute liar who drugged him in the first place. Either way, when they make it to the registers, he risks a soft pat against the other's back to encourage him to pay first. He'll be right behind and ready to hear "what's going on."]
[ an inordinate amount of value, from the looks of it.
luckily he has a task at hand to focus on after that tap to his back so he can forget about the jolt that crawls up his spine in the wake of it. or at the very least, push it down to take one step at a time in paying for his groceries, faithfully waiting for jamil to do the same, and then actually making it out of the establishment. once outside, the city-sounds drown out the breath he heaves, as if he'd been holding it in for hours. ]
In a grocery store, of all places...
[ groaned aloud to himself, immediate and pressing half-frustrations with no where to go. ]
[Jamil pays for the few things he was confident in and picked up. Nothing was too essential, should this detour end up taking longer than he planned. It was the nice thing about only grabbing the ingredients he needed for one or two meals.]
[Once he steps outside to the street and the relative hustle and bustle, he flips his hood up. It doesn't serve much purpose other than letting him look slyly up at Ryuu from beneath the edge.]
... and now in a city street. [he reminds him.]
I'm pretty sure at this point your health isn't threatened but... are you going to be able to get back to your room safely? I'm sure there's some place along the way we could stop.
[Ah, or, well, perhaps he should have been polite and waited for the explanation before saying as much.]
[If that sort of announcement had come out immediately, Jamil probably would have had a bigger reaction. He might have even gotten flustered. Instead, Ryuu put it off for so long that it was practically obvious. Thankfully he was averting his eyes so Jamil didn't have to feign the shock of "oh no, an aphrodisiac"...]
That would explain your symptoms...
[And, even with the extra time to process, it's not like he knows nearly as much about it as, say poisons. It stimulated arousal and... what else? How would a treatment of that even be addressed?]
It must be a potent one, as well, since you hardly consumed any...
[ for one long moment, ryuu isn't sure whether he should be more or less embarrassed at the nonreaction to his plight. on the one hand, it doesn't give him any mutual fluster to latch onto and apologize for, but on the other... does that mean he already knew...? he sighs pathetically, wishing for the heavens to open up and engulf him in a cold shower. ]
It seems like it... but why would something like that be in the middle of a grocery store? Anyone could get ahold of it!
[ leave it to ryuu to immediately leap to worry about others when he's about to, ahem
[Instinctively, Jamil's pulled out his phone and is starting to scroll through the web apps. He can't imagine the information would be easily accessible. After all, he couldn't just easily search up what the spice was.]
It could be that it's not as effective on the natives, or maybe you're particularly sensitive to it... [tap tap tap]
Or maybe to them it's so obvious it doesn't need labeling.
[scroll scroll scroll]
... Ah.
[He's found something but, well, it makes him furrow his brows a little. It's not surprising but...]
[ his thoughts jolt this way and that, the physicality of what his body is wanting to do rubbing up against the better judgment that's telling him what he should do, which is escape before anything worse than an enthusiastic pulse and oversensitive skin happens.
yet... the noise jamil makes draws out his curiosity just enough that it gets the better of him. carefully, ryuu tries to take a look. ]
Like I suspected, it's a product for encouraging synchrony.
[He's scrolling through a wave of comments left by happy spouses and significant others. There are a lot of heart emojis (and eggplants and peaches). Jamil's eyes narrow slightly. From what the scientists on their rescue ship said, it shouldn't require sexual contact. Well, for people in an established relationship that must just be a bonus. Probably. He's never thought about it.]
And a few reviews are stating that the effects don't die down based on sexual performance alone.
[or, well, as the review says "My BF has come 4 times and it won't stop???"]
Synchrony, the emotional aspect, has to happen for you to recover.
[ it's around the point that ryuu sees all the emojis that he realizes he doesn't even need to read the scrolling text to get the idea. instantly, his eyes avert while he lets jamil do the honors in explaining the necessary cure. he knows that manna shouldn't theoretically require anything more than a touch, the ensuing connection...
but his body sure doesn't seem to know that. wilting, he looks somewhat defeated. ]
...I was just going to go home and try a cold shower, to be honest...
I suppose it would work if you took a cold shower with another person.
[He shouldn't have to restate what he already said. If Ryuu were to simply go home and try to suppress the desire with anything else he'd just still be suffering from it. At least, from what he can tell by scrolling, there wasn't a direct health consequence... aside from dehydration due to, ahem, attempts.]
At very least, we should get you back to your housing.
[boop, boop, phone away]
... if you'd like, I could hold your hand. Something like that might at least calm you down until we're out of the public eye.
[ such a blasé tone for such spicy wording. ryuu colors at the non-suggestion, knowing it's meant to tease him and yet still falling for it at least partly. devoting any of his effort to the nonessentials is getting more difficult as time passes. ]
That's really kind of you... [ considering he's out here really trying to shoulder all the responsibility as if the culprit hadn't been offered to him. ] While I'd like to say you don't have to do that -
[ desperate times. ]
I might have to rely on you. J-Just for a little while!
[It was a bit of a tease, a bit of the truth, and a bit of a probe. After all, Ryuu could stop and say that he actually had a roommate or someone to rely on in this situation. Some people had already latched onto one another and created little co-dependent pairs in this strange place. He could understand it from a perspective of stability but... hm, well.]
... it's just holding hands. Are you really so ashamed of yourself right now?
[It's not as if he's a touchy-feely person, but in a situation like this holding hands was obviously on the low tier of physical contact to be offered. It's not like he was offering a handjob in the bathroom or something.]
[(god, these two are dancing around things and won't just go for a handjob in the bathroom)]
Or, are you worried something like that is going to encourage bad behavior?
[ (please he's a gentleman, that is at least a second date activity) ]
It's - [ how does he explain... ] It's not like I'm really unused to things like this happening, because I was in a similar place before coming here.
[ insofar as physicality being "facilitated" in one manner or another. and sure, there, he'd been lucky enough to have bit more of a support system to call on when things got out of hand, but here? he can't just expect the same right away, no matter what their responsibilities as gembonded are. plus, there are people with him now who respect him? it's a whole different playing field. reliance is a thing cultivated, though he seems quick to trust. ]
But it's not like I can just expect syncing from anyone I come across because of that, you know? That wouldn't be fair of me.
[ he would absolutely trudge himself home in a pre-walk of shame... walk of shame. ]
["Responsibilities" as gembonded wasn't something Jamil was ever going to accept easily. Then again, this was also...]
[... it's holding hands? Was there something inherently sexual about holding hands he didn't know? Was Ryuu just the type that thought holding hands with someone aroused was terrible? Jamil himself has avoided most instances of Synchrony he could so it's not as if he knows about any of the other effects or how it feels. He's simply left trying to piece information together into something he can use.]
I'm offering. What's so unfair about that? Don't act like I can't handle this much.
[ there's a slight tense in his palm, but ryuu quiets into it quickly enough once the feeling of synchrony kicks in, the manna runoff soothing his blood somewhat. fingers closing in reciprocation, he lowers his chin like he's been admonished for worrying.
he's still a bit gunshy, so the tilt of his emotions reads about the same. ]
Sorry. I didn't mean to doubt you.
[ maybe yes, he is concerned about encouraging bad behavior. ]
[While it is "just holding hands" it was also "Synchrony." There's a jolt of something like pleasure at their connection and it catches him off-guard. The feeling he had felt taking the other's hand, don't underestimate me, echoed in his mind in a more desperate way. I don't want to be underestimated by you.]
[Time to swallow whatever THAT feeling is.]
... See? It's fine. Now which way is the place you're staying?
[ ryuu isn't so used to reigning himself in in this context. in other matters, sure - part of his training was in manners, in holding his tongue, in standing there and looking pretty, knowing when to speak and when to let go... in the interest of compelling the hearts of those watching him. lunatia had flung the doors and windows open in many ways, had closed the distance on how he connects to people.
when their hands meet, he doesn't think the jolt will be so sharp, but then again, his body is making no secret of what it wants. then, there's the refashioning of a desire that's not his... swallowing, he turns his gaze forward and wills himself to calm down. ]
- right, it's in the Emerald District, where the Embassy sent us. The apartment complex.
[Jamil had noted comparisons between the magic of his own world and this world. There were cardinal elements. There was a link to human emotion. Over-use would result in a strain on the health of the person. This, though? This was something completely different. Rather than just a matter of his magic being an expression of himself, there was suddenly a way their magic could communicate which was another whole mess of thoughts and feelings.]
[And they punctuate it all with pleasure like some sick kind of behavioral conditioning.]
... Right, I would be heading that way anyways.
[After all, he was competent enough to arrive and fill out all the paperwork in a timely fashion.]
And our holding hands will only stand out if you make it obvious. It doesn't seem to be a huge deal, here.
I feel better knowing you won't be going out your way...
[ like, emotionally better. physically? that's still up in the air.
though the flow of manna does seem to be bringing him down from the most immediate of the tensions that had locked up throughout his body like a band waiting to snap. unfortunately, willing his cheeks to cool seems like it won't be as easy of a process. he still looks... overexerted. ]
I guess it wouldn't be, with manna being so important... but it's not like I can really help it just yet. That was nervewracking!
[Even if the physical effects started to wane, he would still be embarrassed... this much synchrony should be able to avoid the worse effects he saw on his phone. That was what mattered.]
It's fine. [He says it in a way that's so certain that it might be heard as reassuring.]
People are very inattentive. It's very likely that no one noticed in the store. The only one who knows,
[a squeeze of the hand, a small smirk]
is me.
[And there's a pleasant feeling of ownership in that. I'm the only one who knows, I know your secrets, and I'll keep it because I like that.]
[ the brief and unexpected show of strength in the hold on his hand makes ryuu reel, like it's his lungs that are being squeezed rather than his hand. his body makes a half-leap, misconstruing the intent. it only hones on the feeling of more. swallowing thickly, ryuu's chin tucks downwards.
anyone else might consider it something of a forewarning, a precipice he ought to step back from. ryuu, even on a good day, doesn't often think to peel back the action to get at the intent underneath.
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exhaling, the closeness makes him feel as though his body is a furnace, burning on its own heat. but the lack of touch means he's relatively calmer, motions as easy to read as an open book. 'look, don't touch' seems to be the winning combination so far. ]
Yeah, okay. That far is enough, I'm sure...
[ and considering how poor he is at being cagey, he wonders if he should just come clean. obvious in chewing over his own words, he offers: ]
This might be forward, but once we're outside, I'll tell you what's happening.
[ better him take the fall for it, right? right. ]
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... forward?
[That's the first thing that really gets Jamil thinking on the right track. After all, people only said they were being forward when they were imposing into the other person's comfort. And that sort of thing...]
[... was it?...]
You don't have to tell me anything you're uncomfortable with. [Well, not as long as he can figure it out himself. Either way, he tries to play the picture of an understanding and kind stranger.]
But I'll listen.
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eyes on the ground as if to plot out his footsteps, he fidgets with his sleeve. ]
I think it'd be better to say what's going on, at the risk of making you uncomfortable...
[ his voice has ventured low and soft, clearly contemplating his life choices. ]
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[(Although, internally, he snorts a bit at the idea of "pardon me if this is too forward, but I've been poisoned.")]
I see. Right, there is a value in honesty.
[say the absolute liar who drugged him in the first place. Either way, when they make it to the registers, he risks a soft pat against the other's back to encourage him to pay first. He'll be right behind and ready to hear "what's going on."]
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luckily he has a task at hand to focus on after that tap to his back so he can forget about the jolt that crawls up his spine in the wake of it. or at the very least, push it down to take one step at a time in paying for his groceries, faithfully waiting for jamil to do the same, and then actually making it out of the establishment. once outside, the city-sounds drown out the breath he heaves, as if he'd been holding it in for hours. ]
In a grocery store, of all places...
[ groaned aloud to himself, immediate and pressing half-frustrations with no where to go. ]
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[Once he steps outside to the street and the relative hustle and bustle, he flips his hood up. It doesn't serve much purpose other than letting him look slyly up at Ryuu from beneath the edge.]
... and now in a city street. [he reminds him.]
I'm pretty sure at this point your health isn't threatened but... are you going to be able to get back to your room safely? I'm sure there's some place along the way we could stop.
[Ah, or, well, perhaps he should have been polite and waited for the explanation before saying as much.]
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I wouldn't call it my health, exactly...
[ unless the awful pace of anxiety and arousal thudding in his heart counts.
so, before his problem starts to manifest as, ahem, action, rather than words, he decides to just come out with it. ]
Whatever I tasted, I think it may have been an aphrodisiac...
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That would explain your symptoms...
[And, even with the extra time to process, it's not like he knows nearly as much about it as, say poisons. It stimulated arousal and... what else? How would a treatment of that even be addressed?]
It must be a potent one, as well, since you hardly consumed any...
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It seems like it... but why would something like that be in the middle of a grocery store? Anyone could get ahold of it!
[ leave it to ryuu to immediately leap to worry about others when he's about to, ahem
have a more obvious problem. ]
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It could be that it's not as effective on the natives, or maybe you're particularly sensitive to it... [tap tap tap]
Or maybe to them it's so obvious it doesn't need labeling.
[scroll scroll scroll]
... Ah.
[He's found something but, well, it makes him furrow his brows a little. It's not surprising but...]
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[ his thoughts jolt this way and that, the physicality of what his body is wanting to do rubbing up against the better judgment that's telling him what he should do, which is escape before anything worse than an enthusiastic pulse and oversensitive skin happens.
yet... the noise jamil makes draws out his curiosity just enough that it gets the better of him. carefully, ryuu tries to take a look. ]
Did you find something about it...?
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[He's scrolling through a wave of comments left by happy spouses and significant others. There are a lot of heart emojis (and eggplants and peaches). Jamil's eyes narrow slightly. From what the scientists on their rescue ship said, it shouldn't require sexual contact. Well, for people in an established relationship that must just be a bonus. Probably. He's never thought about it.]
And a few reviews are stating that the effects don't die down based on sexual performance alone.
[or, well, as the review says "My BF has come 4 times and it won't stop???"]
Synchrony, the emotional aspect, has to happen for you to recover.
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but his body sure doesn't seem to know that. wilting, he looks somewhat defeated. ]
...I was just going to go home and try a cold shower, to be honest...
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[He shouldn't have to restate what he already said. If Ryuu were to simply go home and try to suppress the desire with anything else he'd just still be suffering from it. At least, from what he can tell by scrolling, there wasn't a direct health consequence... aside from dehydration due to, ahem, attempts.]
At very least, we should get you back to your housing.
[boop, boop, phone away]
... if you'd like, I could hold your hand. Something like that might at least calm you down until we're out of the public eye.
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That's really kind of you... [ considering he's out here really trying to shoulder all the responsibility as if the culprit hadn't been offered to him. ] While I'd like to say you don't have to do that -
[ desperate times. ]
I might have to rely on you. J-Just for a little while!
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... it's just holding hands. Are you really so ashamed of yourself right now?
[It's not as if he's a touchy-feely person, but in a situation like this holding hands was obviously on the low tier of physical contact to be offered. It's not like he was offering a handjob in the bathroom or something.]
[(god, these two are dancing around things and won't just go for a handjob in the bathroom)]
Or, are you worried something like that is going to encourage bad behavior?
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It's - [ how does he explain... ] It's not like I'm really unused to things like this happening, because I was in a similar place before coming here.
[ insofar as physicality being "facilitated" in one manner or another. and sure, there, he'd been lucky enough to have bit more of a support system to call on when things got out of hand, but here? he can't just expect the same right away, no matter what their responsibilities as gembonded are. plus, there are people with him now who respect him? it's a whole different playing field. reliance is a thing cultivated, though he seems quick to trust. ]
But it's not like I can just expect syncing from anyone I come across because of that, you know? That wouldn't be fair of me.
[ he would absolutely trudge himself home in a pre-walk of shame... walk of shame. ]
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[... it's holding hands? Was there something inherently sexual about holding hands he didn't know? Was Ryuu just the type that thought holding hands with someone aroused was terrible? Jamil himself has avoided most instances of Synchrony he could so it's not as if he knows about any of the other effects or how it feels. He's simply left trying to piece information together into something he can use.]
I'm offering. What's so unfair about that? Don't act like I can't handle this much.
[He reaches out and takes Ryuu's hand in his.]
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he's still a bit gunshy, so the tilt of his emotions reads about the same. ]
Sorry. I didn't mean to doubt you.
[ maybe yes, he is concerned about encouraging bad behavior. ]
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[While it is "just holding hands" it was also "Synchrony." There's a jolt of something like pleasure at their connection and it catches him off-guard. The feeling he had felt taking the other's hand, don't underestimate me, echoed in his mind in a more desperate way. I don't want to be underestimated by you.]
[Time to swallow whatever THAT feeling is.]
... See? It's fine. Now which way is the place you're staying?
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when their hands meet, he doesn't think the jolt will be so sharp, but then again, his body is making no secret of what it wants. then, there's the refashioning of a desire that's not his... swallowing, he turns his gaze forward and wills himself to calm down. ]
- right, it's in the Emerald District, where the Embassy sent us. The apartment complex.
Thank you, again.
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[And they punctuate it all with pleasure like some sick kind of behavioral conditioning.]
... Right, I would be heading that way anyways.
[After all, he was competent enough to arrive and fill out all the paperwork in a timely fashion.]
And our holding hands will only stand out if you make it obvious. It doesn't seem to be a huge deal, here.
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[ like, emotionally better. physically? that's still up in the air.
though the flow of manna does seem to be bringing him down from the most immediate of the tensions that had locked up throughout his body like a band waiting to snap. unfortunately, willing his cheeks to cool seems like it won't be as easy of a process. he still looks... overexerted. ]
I guess it wouldn't be, with manna being so important... but it's not like I can really help it just yet. That was nervewracking!
[ at least he keeps his voice low. ]
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It's fine. [He says it in a way that's so certain that it might be heard as reassuring.]
People are very inattentive. It's very likely that no one noticed in the store. The only one who knows,
[a squeeze of the hand, a small smirk]
is me.
[And there's a pleasant feeling of ownership in that. I'm the only one who knows, I know your secrets, and I'll keep it because I like that.]
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anyone else might consider it something of a forewarning, a precipice he ought to step back from. ryuu, even on a good day, doesn't often think to peel back the action to get at the intent underneath.
still warm all over, he nods. ]
...yeah. I hope it's just you.
[ otherwise? embarrassing. ]
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