drear | OPEN SEASON 2.

My trip?

[for a brief second he considers saying the truth in so bored a tone it would seem fake to nearly anyone, a joke, but there was the chance Hisoka would see through and take it seriously.]

Well enough. Some things came up out of nowhere and needed to be handled. Sometimes it isn't enough to talk to someone on the phone.

[he says it like it was a tedious affair, smothering down any emotional reaction from himself and the truth that had taken place. the reason for poison and the immediacy of it all, the tense conversations that had so nearly ended with a man dead. business concluded with an agreement and his own liberty to leave without any threats.]

I came back quick enough, didn't I?

Oh, yes. But I still missed you. ♦

[ hisoka holds his wine to his lips, eyebrows raised slightly as he smiles.

but the business is something he's still curious about, so he continues. ]

Was it personal business? ♣ If I may ask.

[may he. if Chrollo didn't have as good self control as he did, this would have warranted a glance, or maybe any hint to give away the way he's vaguely annoyed Hisoka's bringing up this topic at all. no one else does. he's not used to people questioning him when he goes and handles affairs, ever. the boss does what he must, and everyone reaps the benefits, and all he asks for is his secrets.]

It was. Nothing that you or the others need to be worried about. Only very suddenly appearing.

[and thank god he had been alone when he'd gotten that phone call.]

Did anything important happen while I was gone?

Nothing in the office.

[ hisoka wonders: chrollo's vagueness isn't enough to convince him. does he not want to lie? ]

But I did something interesting. ♦

Really? What did you do?

[you can't just say that and not elaborate, Hisoka. it pulls at his curiosity. which isn't really fair to expected, given how vague Chrollo's being, but he's not a fair man.

he also knows he's setting himself up for an answer he may not like, but he folds his hands under his chin anyway.]

I read about you. ♦ Why, I didn't know you were such a troublemaker.

Now, I don't know if I should be flattered you went to read about me or take offense at being called a troublemaker.

[what exactly were you reading, Hisoka, to give you that impression? he doesn't like this sensation of being slowly coaxed into a corner, until the only way forward was through Hisoka and his methods. but he still smiles as though nothing's the problem.]

Oh? It's a compliment. ♠

[ coming from a troublemaker such as himself. ♦ ]

And I learned so many things about you. Chrollo.

Really?

[and here his eyes turn away, back to the wine in its glass. he doesn't trust a direct gaze to not betray the genuine curiosity he has at that question. but part of him wonders. if anything truly got through...]

Like what?

The story of the Morningstar. Did it speak to you? Is that why you chose it?

[ of course it isn't quite 'lucifer', but it's pretty close. ]

[oh, the name was deliberately close. that's not as bad a piece of knowledge as he thought it might be. anyone who thought about it long enough would realize the last name was false - but in appearance, it's not so bad, and that's all he needs to skate by. now he can look at Hisoka again.]

It's almost a tragic story, isn't it? Having the strength to stand up to what was there, having the power that stood behind him, and all of it to end in losing paradise. Losing the love of the almighty who made him. And yet, it can't be tragic when in the end he still is heard. Reigns just the same, even though it's over another domain entirely.

In the end, he knows who he is. He may be king of evil itself, but he knows that place is where he wants to be.

[for that moment, the careful mask Chrollo wears isn't quite so perfect. there's something more intense in his eyes that vanishes the second someone else drifts near, going somewhere for something. metaphorically readjusted, to conceal his thoughts once again.]

It isn't just free will. ♣ He has his domain.

[ that's what hisoka is guessing he's saying. but still— ] Is the fall itself not tragic? The loss of His favor.

[ the waiter returns with their appetizers and sets them down with a brief murmur of description. hisoka doesn't even look down. ]

[the waiter gets a soft "thank you", but Chrollo's eyes don't move either.]

He made him. Why give His favor when He knew that in the end he would fall just the same? Maybe it is tragic, but...until he hit the ground, falling must have felt like flying. Truly weightless.

[ god's reasons are always unclear. and to hisoka, who thinks of god without interest, they don't matter.

chrollo seems to have climbed, rather than fallen. but now he floats at a level too far from the blood and earth of the world. ]

Have you reached the ground yet? [ hisoka's smile curves his lips, his white, slightly uneven teeth showing. ] Or were you just visiting on that trip?

Why so curious about my trip?

[he's here now. isn't that what matters? he's here, and you got him to go on a date with you, and you have him smiling prettily while his eyes show the subtle sharpness in his words.]

Keep it up, and we'll be forced to do an exchange again.

[answers, but at a cost. and if Hisoka pushes him to that point, he will make the man wait until after dinner for it. a petty act of forcing him to be patient.

god, he prefers it when people talk about themselves. much more interesting that way.]

Oh? There are so many things I'd like to exchange with you.

[ hisoka doesn't mind the cost; he hides little about himself that he can't share, and oh, the things he would do for this man. ♠ ]

Tell me about them.

[he doesn't expect Hisoka to take him seriously, he's more taking time to think about how he can get out of this with the least damage done. there are things he can say, things he can't, things he won't.]

Or tell me more about your second job.

[one of those things that he has to keep close is thankfully not his more....morbid tastes. at least, not anymore.]

Pick one. ♦

[ whichever one chrollo chooses, it'll mean a little something to him. ]

But I want both.

[you don't get to escape that easily, Hisoka. not when Chrollo sees an opportunity to redirect the attention.]

First one, then the other, is that it?

First one... and then the other.

[ hisoka leans over the table slightly—then sits back in his seat and picks up his fork to start in on his appetizer. he doesn't speak, just eats neatly. ]

[...satisfactory enough for him. if he would get both, as was his wish, then did the order matter so much anymore? what mattered more was that in the end he did get them. they'll eat in silence for a bit, and Chrollo will finish his appetizer before he speaks again.]

Your job first.

[why? because why not.]

Edited (i'm so sorry oh my god) 2016-06-08 08:38 (UTC)

You know someone who works with me.

[ someone who works with hisoka in his "second job", that is. ]

...Who? No, wait, let me guess.

[his gaze grows distant as he thinks. someone with the same sense around them as Hisoka, if he stopped trying to blind himself to it. someone who would do such a thing, who had the capacity.

the realization comes to him, and he looks up at Hisoka momentarily stunned.]

Illumi?

[ got it in one. ♠ ]

Doesn't he look it? ♥

...I hate to admit it, but...

[something in the eyes. of course, odd wasn't an automatic qualification, but when it came to people who hung around Hisoka...]

For how long?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

WHY DID YOU LET HIM GET ON THIS SUBJECT

HISOKA IS HERE TO INDULGE CHROLLO('S MURDER TENDENCIES)

hisoka's just terrible

well... yes

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject