[ Mako snorts. He should've figured that question was coming, really. ]
Just the ice. Believe me, I tried. The sand stayed put, and I definitely can't airbend. Or even waterbend. I don't think it's the same thing. It probably has something to do with my blood. Did I show you that?
[ They are, maybe, thanks to Mako, walking quite quickly up from the boardwalk all strung with lights. The sun has started to sink low and red into the west behind them, staining all the wood the color of blood. Mako can feel it on the back of his neck and he can feel it even more in his belly, tugging in a way it never did before. ]
[ Wu shudders, thinking about it. He doesn't really want to see blood, even if it's Mako's. He's seen it enough, k tnx, when he had to dress the bullet wound he put in Mako's calf.
Fritter, perched on Wu's shoulders, leans down to try and steal some of his hotdog. Wu rips off a bit of the bun and offers it to her offhandedly ]
That would have been so cool! Well, you're one step closer to being the Avatar, big guy.
What, you think I want to be the Avatar? My life is chaotic enough just being friends with her. I don't want all that.
[ Come on, Wu, you don't want all that responsibility either. Leave being a symbol to Bolin and Asami and Korra: Mako just wants to be Mako, and to know what that actually means. Maybe it's just the myriad physical transformations that are making it hazy and hard to remember. He wonders, idly, in a way he hasn't in years, what his mother would think of him now, wandering along a strange shore toward a dark city with his arm around the Earth King. ]
But my point is, my blood's blue. And... frozen. Weirdly.
[ It takes a second for those words to make sense in his brain. ]
It's blue?!
[ Somehow that's weirder than his boyfriend suddenly being able to make ice and nearly freezing himself to the ground. He turns to look at Mako, mouth agape ]
It's really blue? How is it blue? Your blood was normal! Red normal! Before--
[ Right?! He would have noticed if Mako's blood wasn't read, wouldn't he.
Well, Mako does look pale. Wu reaches up to pull at his cheek. Huh. He doesn't have as much of a red tint under his skin ]
[ Mako yanks his head back, which doesn't do anything except stretch his skin, which does in fact flush blue under Wu's fingers where once it would have gone pink. It's subtle, but yes: it's definitely blue.
Mako glares down at him, more huffy than anything, finally pulling himself free. ]
What was that? Obviously it was normal before. It was the squid thing. Something changed.
[ It's weird. It's pretty damn weird. The tint of Mako's skin is so different now, different and pale and maybe he isn't just feeling bad, maybe he really is different.
But he lets Mako go, not wanting him to get too much more annoyed with Wu than he already is. That little hint of fear is still there, a pit in his gut that he's good at ignoring, but that rears its head whenever Mako gets like this, when he stops being amused by Wu and gets annoyed instead.
He really doesn't know what he would do without Mako. In Deerington, at home, in this new place, wherever they are now. He would be horribly lost without him.
He starts to eat the hotdog so he doesn't say anything else stupid. But Fritter grabs onto Mako's shirt and tugs, glaring up at him ]
[ Mako asks again, this time a little more mystified and a little less annoyed, looking down at Fritter. She looks angry about something, but Mako's still rubbing at his cheek where Wu tugged at it, focused on his weird blood and how they're going to find someplace to stay. He'd heard earlier that there were plenty of houses, that they could just... have one, but Mako doesn't trust that at all. It's too good, too easy. If people could just give away houses with no catch, they'd've been doing that everywhere. ]
[ Fritter chitters something unintelligible at Mako, and Wu frowns at her, petting over her head. ]
Hey, hey, princess, it's okay. Mako's having a bad day. Give him a break!
[ Except Wu doesn't exactly feel great himself. His high of being somewhere new, of trying to understand it, of meeting new people, is starting to wear off, and he's kind of exhausted. He hasn't had the best day, either, and all he wants to do is lie down, but they don't have a place to lie down. ]
Um. Where are we going?
[ They're past the edge of the boardwalk now, surrounded by dark, imposing buildings, and he presses closer to Mako's side ]
The city. Unless you wanted to sleep on the beach.
[ A few months ago, Mako probably would have left it at that: an answer to a question, and nothing else, no matter the other part of what Wu said, no matter the raccoon still glaring up at him with big dark eyes.
It's true, but the words still make guilt twist coldly through him. Mako isn't having a good day, but he doesn't need to take that out on Wu, who's been there since he woke up, who dragged him from the salt and the sand and held him until he remembered who he was.
Mako can't lean on him like this. He can't make Wu's life harder, no matter how shitty he feels.
The boardwalk gives way to a path, and Mako swallows, walking a little closer himself, untangling his arm from Wu's only to wrap it around his shoulders instead. ]
...I don't think any of us are having a great day.
[ Wu leans into his side, and Fritter huffs a little, having to move to accommodate Mako's arm. Usually, she'd probably run up to Mako's shoulders instead, but she's still annoyed at him, and curls up between Mako's hand and Wu's throat. ]
Do you think there's a hotel? Boy, what I'd give for room service. Hot dogs are great and everything, but a guy can't just live on junk food!
I hope so. One of the people on the beach told me you could just... have a house?
[ But his tone says more than enough about how Mako feels about that. At least in Deerington they woke up in houses. Mako has this vague idea that they'll claim one only to find it haunted or blood-covered or get kicked out by angry locals the next day, or charged more than either of them could ever afford. Wu doesn't exactly have a king's salary anymore.
He does quietly, covertly, scritch Fritter's ear in an offering of peace. ]
We'll figure something out. Hotel or house or... I don't know, I've slept in worse than alleys.
[ Wu looks up at him again, aghast. It's so casual, how can he say that so casually? It hurts down in Wu's heart to think of Mako not having a bed to sleep in ]
We're not sleeping in an alley! When have you slept in an alley?
[ He does remember, sometimes, but it's easy to forget. The Mako he knows is so put together, so self-assured, he can forget that their lives were so different, before. When Wu was miserable in his giant palace with food and shelter and any physical comfort he could want, Mako was struggling and homeless.
Maybe he willfully forgets it. His feelings aren't contained, are a roiling thing inside him, and they leak through the touch of Mako's arm around his shoulder, letting Mako feel the deep sadness that Wu feels when he thinks about Mako's past, the disgust he feels for his own self-centeredness. He has no idea his emotions are there, no idea that Mako can feel them.
Fritter whines, pressing her nose into Wu's throat. ]
Right. Trash. Um. We're not going to do that. We're going to find somewhere with beds and a roof and hopefully pillows and blankets and things like that.
Not really, even when he was a kid. At first Mako was numb, focused so hard on finding them places to stay that he barely had time to figure out how he felt about any of it. He and Bolin would curl up with pilfered sheets, making little forts in alleyways with whatever they could find, and Mako would burn trash like they were camping and tell Bolin stories until they fell asleep.
Until Bolin fell asleep.
Mako was too scared those first few months that someone would come upon them, hurt them like the other kids would threaten. He'd lie awake, his heart pounding at every small noise, full of fear and memories and mostly—mostly anger. Sadness has always transmuted to anger inside him, catching like kindling and burning hot enough to fuel him and keep him going.
Mako hasn't been sad about it in a long time.
So he doesn't know where this is coming from, doesn't recognize it as his own, and after a beat, feeling it well up cold and dark, he glances down at Wu, wondering. ]
I'm... not saying we have to sleep in an alleyway, just that we can't trust this place. We'll find a house, or a hotel. Don't worry. I'll figure it out.
[ At least Mako is taking care of him. Mako always takes care of him, in the end, but Wu can't let himself just fall back into making Mako solve everything for him. ]
We'll figure it out.
[ Wu corrects him, and looks up at Mako with a small smile. ]
I guess we should look around! What kind of house would you want, assuming we can pick from any of them?
[ We, because Wu is here too, because Mako isn't in this alone.
He really shouldn't forget that.
With a small smile, he tugs Wu against his side for a moment, scanning the city rising up in front of them. ]
Something smaller than the safehouse. Maybe, uh.
[ The possibilities aren't really endless—Mako's sure no one is going to let them claim a mansion; there must be limits—but there's at least one thing he knows he wants. ]
[ Warmth spreads down through Wu at the thought. Just for them (and Fritter, of course). A place where they can live together, as boyfriends, partners, spending their days together, and their nights together, and not having to control their voices for fear that Mako's brother or exes will hear them. He presses closer to Mako, this time warmth and love radiating from him, pressing through their contact. ]
Yeah. I'd like that.
[ They wander through the streets, and Wu isn't convinced of any of the neighborhoods until they enter one that feels more correct-- it's beautiful, and bustling, and feels so much more full of life than the rest of the city. He gasps when Fritter leaps from his shoulder and starts to run down the street, radiating "follow me." Wu grabs Mako's hand and starts to jog after her with a bright grin ]
[ Wu's been filling the silence up until now, chattering about whatever district they're walking through, pointing out architecture and signs and anything else that catches his eye. Mako points out the lack of prices on anything, which apparently Wu hadn't noticed, and Wu croons about how cute various cafes are and then grimaces at the darkness of most of the architecture and the statues—until Fritter runs off.
All that radiating warmth, which Mako mostly attributed to the idea of living alone with Wu like they did before, without all the people pressing in on his space, making it hard to think, disappears, replaced by concern, even if Wu doesn't seem that worried. ]
Fritter!
[ He is concerned. She is a very small raccoon and they just found her, and more importantly whenever Fritter has run off somewhere, danger for Wu has usually followed. ]
[ Wu, on the other hand, finds it pretty fun, at least until he catches Mako's hand, running together with him after her. Then the concern crashes over him, and he holds back a cry, hurrying up so he can keep her in his sights.
She veers down a street, then another one, into the heart of the neighborhood, until she stops in front of a townhouse with an old sign on it that's hanging half off its hinges that reads Parlor Room ]
Fritter, baby! You can't run off like that.
[ He lets go of Mako to scoop her up, cradling her close to his chest. She doesn't seem concerned at all, nosing into his chest and staying there.
He looks up at the building. It does look pretty abandoned, the door's pale blue paint chipped, the sign hanging loose, the windows boarded up ]
[ It certainly doesn't look like much, but in a way, that's comforting: Mako really wouldn't feel right just waltzing into some clearly-recently-occupied home. At least this thing, with its run-down shabby face, crowned by what look like quite a lot of windows, actually, hasn't been loved in a long time.
And it seems to be in the middle of the city, like Mako's apartment downtown. He's always liked living in the center of things. It feels more like home already than that sprawling mansion or the neat houses in Deerington ever did.
Still. He is definitely doubtful. ]
She's a raccoon. She probably just smelled food in there.
[ Mako's still looking up at it, though, tilting his head, doubting his own words. Something is keeping him from dismissing it, from looking away. ]
Maybe, but she couldn't have smelled food from that far away. Right?
[ Wu looks down at her, petting over her head. Fritter looks pretty smug, and Wu gets a sense that this is their house, she picked this one for them. ]
We should check it out! If Fritter thinks it's good.
[ He knows Mako might dismiss that, since Fritter is in fact a raccoon, but Wu barrels ahead, not giving Mako the opportunity to complain. He tries the doorknob, and it opens easily into a dark, musty room. He feels along the wall and flips a switch.
The whole place rights up with dusty chandeliers, the wallpaper blue and fading. There's a booth at the front and curtains covered two doorways, and Wu feels excitement building in his chest.
This isn't a house. It's a-- ]
Oh boy, this is a theater!
[ He rushes forward past the curtains and gasps loudly, which then turns into a cough because of the dust.
It's amazing, it's perfect, and he looks around with wide eyes at the plush couches and the little tables that all point toward a wooden stage. It's cozy and he can see potential in it. ]
[ Wu knows him so well. Mako is in fact just about ready to dismiss that (you can't take housing suggestions from a raccoon, no matter how smart Wu is convinced she is) when Wu just... makes the choice for them both and goes inside, and, well.
Mako does still have that weird contented feeling, like they're making the right choice. He shoves it down, frowning. Right now, he has to be practical and figure out if this is actually a safe place to stay. If it looks like the ceiling is going to collapse in on them, Mako's out. He follows Wu inside, all his senses on high alert, looking around for anything that might be out of place or amiss.
It's dusty, that's for sure. As Wu rushes for the door, Mako takes the time to check out the little booth, inspecting the nooks and crannies for—something. Weird flower rats or skeletons or sigils. After Deerington, anything could happen.
But the doors lead to where they should, and the only things lurking in the shadows are dust and insects, so eventually he comes to join Wu in the larger room, the theater proper. Dusty curtains lurk at the back of the stage, deep-blue and velvet. They look like they were once luxurious.
This is only the first floor. They haven't even seen a way upstairs, to where all of those boarded-up windows were.
The floor creaks as Mako comes up quietly behind Wu, letting a hand drop absently against his back. ]
Wonder how long it's been since this place was used.
[ Wu grins up at him, excitement thrumming through him. He can see so much potential in this old, rundown space. He's never really had that feeling before-- maybe with a closet, with things he could put together to make something nice, but never with a space like this. He can see it as a theater, as a space to bring people together, for people to express themselves and show their talents.
Fritter skitters over onto the stage, standing up on her little hind legs and holds out her arms to the audience. Wu can't help but laugh, and grabs Mako's hand to drag him up onto the stage too.
It's still dim in here, only lit by the chandeliers, but he can see spotlights toward the back that could light up the stage. ]
This is incredible! Mako, I-- I really love this.
[ It's a little scary to admit, but this is Mako. If he can't trust Mako with that, who can he trust. ]
Dust, accumulated over what has to be years since this place was occupied. It reminds Mako a little of a club Zolt dragged him to once in the city, back when he was still a skinny angry scrap of a thing in Zolt's shadow, trying not to be terrified of the future being laid out for him.
That place was a cheap imitation of what this theater could be, all lamé curtains and wreathes of sweet smoke, the laughter and ooze of people playing at money they could never hope to have.
Later, Wu had taken him to some little show in the city in a room a lot like this one. They'd sat at a table up near the stage and watched a singer croon under a spotlight at them, drinking soju that probably cost about as much as a month's rent at Mako's old place. Wu had mentioned to him that night, actually, that he'd love to be up there someday singing to a rapt audience.
The slight dip of feeling in Wu's voice pulls Mako from his own memories, and he looks down, his heart doing strange things in his chest. Wu is looking out over this place with an expression on his face that Mako's never really seen before. It makes him ache, just a little, to see it. Like he wants something badly, and like he's scared of just how much.
He wraps an arm around Wu's waist, tugs him close against his side, and is glad for the warmth of him. ]
As long as it has a bed somewhere, we can stay here. Doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time. We'd probably be doing it a favor.
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reddosmod) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
countryclub2021-08-09 05:25 pm
no subject
Just the ice. Believe me, I tried. The sand stayed put, and I definitely can't airbend. Or even waterbend. I don't think it's the same thing. It probably has something to do with my blood. Did I show you that?
[ They are, maybe, thanks to Mako, walking quite quickly up from the boardwalk all strung with lights. The sun has started to sink low and red into the west behind them, staining all the wood the color of blood. Mako can feel it on the back of his neck and he can feel it even more in his belly, tugging in a way it never did before. ]
no subject
[ Wu shudders, thinking about it. He doesn't really want to see blood, even if it's Mako's. He's seen it enough, k tnx, when he had to dress the bullet wound he put in Mako's calf.
Fritter, perched on Wu's shoulders, leans down to try and steal some of his hotdog. Wu rips off a bit of the bun and offers it to her offhandedly ]
That would have been so cool! Well, you're one step closer to being the Avatar, big guy.
no subject
[ Come on, Wu, you don't want all that responsibility either. Leave being a symbol to Bolin and Asami and Korra: Mako just wants to be Mako, and to know what that actually means. Maybe it's just the myriad physical transformations that are making it hazy and hard to remember. He wonders, idly, in a way he hasn't in years, what his mother would think of him now, wandering along a strange shore toward a dark city with his arm around the Earth King. ]
But my point is, my blood's blue. And... frozen. Weirdly.
no subject
It's blue?!
[ Somehow that's weirder than his boyfriend suddenly being able to make ice and nearly freezing himself to the ground. He turns to look at Mako, mouth agape ]
It's really blue? How is it blue? Your blood was normal! Red normal! Before--
[ Right?! He would have noticed if Mako's blood wasn't read, wouldn't he.
Well, Mako does look pale. Wu reaches up to pull at his cheek. Huh. He doesn't have as much of a red tint under his skin ]
no subject
[ Mako yanks his head back, which doesn't do anything except stretch his skin, which does in fact flush blue under Wu's fingers where once it would have gone pink. It's subtle, but yes: it's definitely blue.
Mako glares down at him, more huffy than anything, finally pulling himself free. ]
What was that? Obviously it was normal before. It was the squid thing. Something changed.
no subject
[ It's weird. It's pretty damn weird. The tint of Mako's skin is so different now, different and pale and maybe he isn't just feeling bad, maybe he really is different.
But he lets Mako go, not wanting him to get too much more annoyed with Wu than he already is. That little hint of fear is still there, a pit in his gut that he's good at ignoring, but that rears its head whenever Mako gets like this, when he stops being amused by Wu and gets annoyed instead.
He really doesn't know what he would do without Mako. In Deerington, at home, in this new place, wherever they are now. He would be horribly lost without him.
He starts to eat the hotdog so he doesn't say anything else stupid. But Fritter grabs onto Mako's shirt and tugs, glaring up at him ]
no subject
[ Mako asks again, this time a little more mystified and a little less annoyed, looking down at Fritter. She looks angry about something, but Mako's still rubbing at his cheek where Wu tugged at it, focused on his weird blood and how they're going to find someplace to stay. He'd heard earlier that there were plenty of houses, that they could just... have one, but Mako doesn't trust that at all. It's too good, too easy. If people could just give away houses with no catch, they'd've been doing that everywhere. ]
no subject
Hey, hey, princess, it's okay. Mako's having a bad day. Give him a break!
[ Except Wu doesn't exactly feel great himself. His high of being somewhere new, of trying to understand it, of meeting new people, is starting to wear off, and he's kind of exhausted. He hasn't had the best day, either, and all he wants to do is lie down, but they don't have a place to lie down. ]
Um. Where are we going?
[ They're past the edge of the boardwalk now, surrounded by dark, imposing buildings, and he presses closer to Mako's side ]
no subject
[ A few months ago, Mako probably would have left it at that: an answer to a question, and nothing else, no matter the other part of what Wu said, no matter the raccoon still glaring up at him with big dark eyes.
It's true, but the words still make guilt twist coldly through him. Mako isn't having a good day, but he doesn't need to take that out on Wu, who's been there since he woke up, who dragged him from the salt and the sand and held him until he remembered who he was.
Mako can't lean on him like this. He can't make Wu's life harder, no matter how shitty he feels.
The boardwalk gives way to a path, and Mako swallows, walking a little closer himself, untangling his arm from Wu's only to wrap it around his shoulders instead. ]
...I don't think any of us are having a great day.
no subject
[ Wu leans into his side, and Fritter huffs a little, having to move to accommodate Mako's arm. Usually, she'd probably run up to Mako's shoulders instead, but she's still annoyed at him, and curls up between Mako's hand and Wu's throat. ]
Do you think there's a hotel? Boy, what I'd give for room service. Hot dogs are great and everything, but a guy can't just live on junk food!
no subject
[ But his tone says more than enough about how Mako feels about that. At least in Deerington they woke up in houses. Mako has this vague idea that they'll claim one only to find it haunted or blood-covered or get kicked out by angry locals the next day, or charged more than either of them could ever afford. Wu doesn't exactly have a king's salary anymore.
He does quietly, covertly, scritch Fritter's ear in an offering of peace. ]
We'll figure something out. Hotel or house or... I don't know, I've slept in worse than alleys.
no subject
[ Wu looks up at him again, aghast. It's so casual, how can he say that so casually? It hurts down in Wu's heart to think of Mako not having a bed to sleep in ]
We're not sleeping in an alley! When have you slept in an alley?
no subject
Plenty of times. Street kid, remember? You just had to find the trash to make it softer.
no subject
Maybe he willfully forgets it. His feelings aren't contained, are a roiling thing inside him, and they leak through the touch of Mako's arm around his shoulder, letting Mako feel the deep sadness that Wu feels when he thinks about Mako's past, the disgust he feels for his own self-centeredness. He has no idea his emotions are there, no idea that Mako can feel them.
Fritter whines, pressing her nose into Wu's throat. ]
Right. Trash. Um. We're not going to do that. We're going to find somewhere with beds and a roof and hopefully pillows and blankets and things like that.
no subject
He's never felt sad about it.
Not really, even when he was a kid. At first Mako was numb, focused so hard on finding them places to stay that he barely had time to figure out how he felt about any of it. He and Bolin would curl up with pilfered sheets, making little forts in alleyways with whatever they could find, and Mako would burn trash like they were camping and tell Bolin stories until they fell asleep.
Until Bolin fell asleep.
Mako was too scared those first few months that someone would come upon them, hurt them like the other kids would threaten. He'd lie awake, his heart pounding at every small noise, full of fear and memories and mostly—mostly anger. Sadness has always transmuted to anger inside him, catching like kindling and burning hot enough to fuel him and keep him going.
Mako hasn't been sad about it in a long time.
So he doesn't know where this is coming from, doesn't recognize it as his own, and after a beat, feeling it well up cold and dark, he glances down at Wu, wondering. ]
I'm... not saying we have to sleep in an alleyway, just that we can't trust this place. We'll find a house, or a hotel. Don't worry. I'll figure it out.
no subject
We'll figure it out.
[ Wu corrects him, and looks up at Mako with a small smile. ]
I guess we should look around! What kind of house would you want, assuming we can pick from any of them?
no subject
[ We, because Wu is here too, because Mako isn't in this alone.
He really shouldn't forget that.
With a small smile, he tugs Wu against his side for a moment, scanning the city rising up in front of them. ]
Something smaller than the safehouse. Maybe, uh.
[ The possibilities aren't really endless—Mako's sure no one is going to let them claim a mansion; there must be limits—but there's at least one thing he knows he wants. ]
Something just for us.
no subject
Yeah. I'd like that.
[ They wander through the streets, and Wu isn't convinced of any of the neighborhoods until they enter one that feels more correct-- it's beautiful, and bustling, and feels so much more full of life than the rest of the city. He gasps when Fritter leaps from his shoulder and starts to run down the street, radiating "follow me." Wu grabs Mako's hand and starts to jog after her with a bright grin ]
no subject
All that radiating warmth, which Mako mostly attributed to the idea of living alone with Wu like they did before, without all the people pressing in on his space, making it hard to think, disappears, replaced by concern, even if Wu doesn't seem that worried. ]
Fritter!
[ He is concerned. She is a very small raccoon and they just found her, and more importantly whenever Fritter has run off somewhere, danger for Wu has usually followed. ]
no subject
She veers down a street, then another one, into the heart of the neighborhood, until she stops in front of a townhouse with an old sign on it that's hanging half off its hinges that reads Parlor Room ]
Fritter, baby! You can't run off like that.
[ He lets go of Mako to scoop her up, cradling her close to his chest. She doesn't seem concerned at all, nosing into his chest and staying there.
He looks up at the building. It does look pretty abandoned, the door's pale blue paint chipped, the sign hanging loose, the windows boarded up ]
You want us to look at it..?
no subject
And it seems to be in the middle of the city, like Mako's apartment downtown. He's always liked living in the center of things. It feels more like home already than that sprawling mansion or the neat houses in Deerington ever did.
Still. He is definitely doubtful. ]
She's a raccoon. She probably just smelled food in there.
[ Mako's still looking up at it, though, tilting his head, doubting his own words. Something is keeping him from dismissing it, from looking away. ]
no subject
[ Wu looks down at her, petting over her head. Fritter looks pretty smug, and Wu gets a sense that this is their house, she picked this one for them. ]
We should check it out! If Fritter thinks it's good.
[ He knows Mako might dismiss that, since Fritter is in fact a raccoon, but Wu barrels ahead, not giving Mako the opportunity to complain. He tries the doorknob, and it opens easily into a dark, musty room. He feels along the wall and flips a switch.
The whole place rights up with dusty chandeliers, the wallpaper blue and fading. There's a booth at the front and curtains covered two doorways, and Wu feels excitement building in his chest.
This isn't a house. It's a-- ]
Oh boy, this is a theater!
[ He rushes forward past the curtains and gasps loudly, which then turns into a cough because of the dust.
It's amazing, it's perfect, and he looks around with wide eyes at the plush couches and the little tables that all point toward a wooden stage. It's cozy and he can see potential in it. ]
no subject
Mako does still have that weird contented feeling, like they're making the right choice. He shoves it down, frowning. Right now, he has to be practical and figure out if this is actually a safe place to stay. If it looks like the ceiling is going to collapse in on them, Mako's out. He follows Wu inside, all his senses on high alert, looking around for anything that might be out of place or amiss.
It's dusty, that's for sure. As Wu rushes for the door, Mako takes the time to check out the little booth, inspecting the nooks and crannies for—something. Weird flower rats or skeletons or sigils. After Deerington, anything could happen.
But the doors lead to where they should, and the only things lurking in the shadows are dust and insects, so eventually he comes to join Wu in the larger room, the theater proper. Dusty curtains lurk at the back of the stage, deep-blue and velvet. They look like they were once luxurious.
This is only the first floor. They haven't even seen a way upstairs, to where all of those boarded-up windows were.
The floor creaks as Mako comes up quietly behind Wu, letting a hand drop absently against his back. ]
Wonder how long it's been since this place was used.
no subject
Fritter skitters over onto the stage, standing up on her little hind legs and holds out her arms to the audience. Wu can't help but laugh, and grabs Mako's hand to drag him up onto the stage too.
It's still dim in here, only lit by the chandeliers, but he can see spotlights toward the back that could light up the stage. ]
This is incredible! Mako, I-- I really love this.
[ It's a little scary to admit, but this is Mako. If he can't trust Mako with that, who can he trust. ]
no subject
Dust, accumulated over what has to be years since this place was occupied. It reminds Mako a little of a club Zolt dragged him to once in the city, back when he was still a skinny angry scrap of a thing in Zolt's shadow, trying not to be terrified of the future being laid out for him.
That place was a cheap imitation of what this theater could be, all lamé curtains and wreathes of sweet smoke, the laughter and ooze of people playing at money they could never hope to have.
Later, Wu had taken him to some little show in the city in a room a lot like this one. They'd sat at a table up near the stage and watched a singer croon under a spotlight at them, drinking soju that probably cost about as much as a month's rent at Mako's old place. Wu had mentioned to him that night, actually, that he'd love to be up there someday singing to a rapt audience.
The slight dip of feeling in Wu's voice pulls Mako from his own memories, and he looks down, his heart doing strange things in his chest. Wu is looking out over this place with an expression on his face that Mako's never really seen before. It makes him ache, just a little, to see it. Like he wants something badly, and like he's scared of just how much.
He wraps an arm around Wu's waist, tugs him close against his side, and is glad for the warmth of him. ]
As long as it has a bed somewhere, we can stay here. Doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time. We'd probably be doing it a favor.
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