Canon: Maiden Rose / Hyakujitsu no Bara

[resisting_this]

Writer,

Could you do me the favor of abating your slight amusement that my age is quoted at being a vague 'twenty something'; and by one of my most trusted companions, at that?

Not only is that hardly entertaining information, but it certainly lacks any implications or further reading-into.

....

And as for other endeavors-
If you're so willing to develop interaction between myself and others of dubious ethics or moral character, especially within a place such as this, then perhaps there exists the necessity of creating a warning on my profile.

Anyone with the gall to place their hands in my vicinity will forfeit their right to have them returned intact.

Comments

[passportpapers]

The man took an open wound better than most.

♥

[resisting_this]

[ He refuses to even consider allotting Berkut the scant compliment. Taki permitted the man his life. For what the other tried to take, nothing more is deserved- least of all praise. ]

....

[ For the life of him, the edges of a scowl are nearly impossible to resist as a sudden thought presses forward. It's almost worrisome that the first response to settle upon his tongue originally had been a different word, altogether: 'Unfortunately'. Thankfully the sense of bubbling disappointment, borne from not exacting just a little more from Klaus' would-be assassin, and the ruthlessness it's backed by, ebb away as quickly as they had arrived. ]

His ability to survive a non-fatal wound without theatrics is hardly laudable.

\o/ ♥

[passportpapers]

Had more bite in him than more dogs, too. Nice, big jaw, sharp teeth. Didn't whimper much. Held his ground. Can't fault a man for being born on the wrong side of a cause or a border.

Re: \o/ ♥

[resisting_this]

[ War is one thing. Politics. Treaties. Men fighting for their motherland; aiming to carry on their legacy and life into the future. That Taki can rationalize. Those things can be dealt with as a leader- one who knows benevolence, compassion and who carries with him the ability to grant leniency. Even to the opposing side.

It's certainly not so cut and dry when things are..this personal.
Of all the things he's learned, no one ever taught Taki to handle nearly losing someone like Klaus. ]

I don't harbor prejudice on the basis of birth or allegiance.

You should know that.

[passportpapers]

You're thinking too much. [ A chuckle - light. ] Can't say it's any less than your habit.

[ And now for slightly more serious matters. ]

My bad. The commander shouldn't be put in a position where there's a damned hand close enough to touch'im, let alone where he has to cut it down. I'll keep my eyes open wise - real wide.

[resisting_this]

[ Taki feels the rake of that backhanded agreement, lets it simmer and burn for an instant before casting the underlying bitterness back. ]

For the sake of shielding myself from the reach of others- [ A beat ] ...or to keep sufficient enough watch over yourself?

[ Klaus may never have been given Carte Blanche to follow through with whatever whims his heart and hands may possess, nor was he entirely exempt from the rules which govern their bond. Even still, had there not been times when Klaus' touch had escaped feeling the disruptive blow from Taki's palm nor the bite of chastising words? Hadn't he taken, or found himself permitted, to something? Recently, even. Treading that thread-thin high wire of grey in-between, shrouded in the lies of friendship, benevolent compassion and sheer accident- fingers had found their fleeting perch. Does that count for nothing?

In Taki's mind that allowance enough should excuse the other man from taking offense to words hardly meant for his person. Yet, it's clear to see Klaus feels otherwise. ]

[passportpapers]

[ Inevitably, there is a time and a place and a cigarette for both. He lights it with a hand steadied partway by urgency. ]

Let's put it plain and even before your eyes, Taki Reizen, settle that score. You're commander. Like it or not. [ Whether Klaus likes it or not, too. ]

You're more important than my eyes, my teeth, my neck and every last bone in my body. You're worth more than any man in your squadron, to them and to your enemy. It's how it is.

[resisting_this]

[ It somewhat sickens the man to hear Klaus dissect himself into nothing more than little fragments and pieces of the whole; even if only in something as benign as words. Strange how all those parts, individually separated up, seem morbid. Terrifying. As if Klaus is describing the inconsequential nature of himself by placing the whole of him side-by-side with those pieces; comparing them to prove they both, and ultimately the solider himself, hold the same value. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Not in the long run, at least. Not when a good tool has served it's purpose and worn itself, and it's usefulness, out.

Klaus isn't worth too terribly much to his fellow soldiers, to other countries, and perhaps even to himself. The entire world may disagree, but such a pitiable value couldn't be further from the truth, as Taki sees it. Though he may take it to his grave- tomorrow, tonight, or upon the next day battle beckons for him again; Taki felt that much. ]

I'm aware of what my men believe. As for rival nations- they fail to mask their desires well enough for me to remain blind to them.
I know...'How things are'.

[ Klaus makes his point. The weight it carries settles on him heavily enough to support the value of distraction. Not that he'll allow any semblance of evidence to suggest such a need. Better that he turns to other things seamlessly, forgoing any chance of the prior conversation thriving on through worried questions or, more likely, unabashed taunts on his behalf. Taki lights his own match, only to ensure it dies upon the wick of a nearby candle; one light passing it's flame on to the next. It's fragrant but far from overpowering, more earthen than flowery or perfumed, and just strong enough to simply hint at it's ability to help muffle the scent of tobacco which his companion welcomes into the room. ]

Klaus.

[ He pauses. Holds the other's quietly spoken name in the air between them, as if to guide their talk from existing as one between Commander and Captain into something more- human. Perhaps a conversation akin to that of two people who had once been friends. ]

Is speaking with me so strenuous an act that it always must be followed with a cigarette?

[passportpapers]

[ It surprises him, really. Wide-eyed, he frowns down in puzzle at the cigarette in hand, as if it's a natural extension of his body that for the first time he's been called to question as foreign.

He balances the lit stick on the back of his fingers slowly, somewhat amused by the very small possibility of landing a burn. ]

You want it gone?

[resisting_this]

[ The expression is worth absorbing, no matter that Taki gives little sign or suggestion as to that fact. It's different. Rarely seen as often as the emotions Klaus defaults to. Unique. Honest, even. After all, astonishment is only a few paces away from being- open. If that's the right word for the hint of vulnerability that becomes effectively buried with enough time and wounds. ]

Tch. If cadets get peeling duty for playing with knives, exactly what do you deserve for entertaining yourself with something which has been lit?

[ Taki carefully removes the cigarette while aiming it's ineffectual end Klaus' way; effectively holding the item backwards. He may have never indulged, but it takes very little effort to switch his hold over from between forefinger and thumb to the position which most would prefer when taking a drag; albeit still with the flame pointing towards him. ]

...Not yet.

[ Hesitantly spoken. Taki would prefer to accept the easy way out. It'd be simple enough. Perhaps to even bend him to handing over the rest. But there will be others, and always another day to condemn their use. Once in a while- perhaps his will should succumb to the preference of another. ]

I have to occasionally permit you something, I suppose.

[ His hand extends slightly, offering the item back. An olive branch- just for now. ]

[passportpapers]

[ He recovers his cigarette, borrowing with it brief warmth off Taki's fingers, stealing that intimacy. He doesn't know whether to afford a drag; whether, permission now granted, abstinence is expected, or would be viewed as ingratitude. There's always, he supposed, a part of his mind caught somewhere in the idle play between what Taki says and Taki wants and Taki means - and it'd be significantly easier if only his good commander ever thought to speak his real mind and dictate that after his feelings.

Simply, with a nod Taki's way - ]

Obliged.

[ There's a sir there, dead on the tip of his tongue. ]

[resisting_this]

[ Fingers meet for a brief instant across the divide stretching out between both men. It's a mere arm's length of distance, yet might as well be hundreds of miles. A space which may only be crossed through avenues of intent which remain half-truths.

The passing of a cigarette between them. One accidental breach of personal space. No apologies or acknowledgment that the act ever happened. It's a dance they know so well and have performed with painstaking repetition. By now it should be mastered into a science, one full of cold facts and variables.

X exists as the space between their forms. Y defines the time in seconds that the moment lasts. Z stands for every word they cannot afford themselves to speak to one another. It's a nice, neat little mathematical equation to calculate denial in it's most potent form. ]

Of course.

[ The one thing which can be promised is the unlikelihood that Taki can ever willingly distinguish between those three states of mind. Not while Klaus is conscious. Certainly never when it matters the most, and the other man needs to hear the distinction between them all. Taki's words rarely correlate to what one ought take from the conversation. Beneath the facade of an immediate face-value there's always much more; most of it finds itself undiscovered, bricked up and walled away in the catacombs belonging to so many unspoken, unrealized things. The facts of his own desires were even more implausible to decipher and far easier to wholly deny. ]

[passportpapers]

[ It's -- strange, this acquired taste, the tang of casual talk between them. ]

Stumbling over your courtesies like a man with a long day behind him. That so?

[resisting_this]

Two words are hardly sufficient evidence to prove a stumble, let alone allude to any other assumptions you might have.

[ The beginnings of a frown garnish his words and add an unfortunate touch of bitterness to the strange flavor of the moment. Whatever reasoning there might be for pointing out his hesitation- well, it's lost on Taki and only earns further prickling on his part. ]