Initiative.

[trustbound]

Rachel looks a bit conflicted about what should happen from here; Lisbeth is still on the floor, but she's told her what she should do, and so... Well, she's never really been good at saying no, though she does walk up and reach out to pet Lisbeth's hair gingerly for a moment before turning to everyone else. "We should leave." And with that, the courtroom changes, all at once; it was one thing, and then quite simply it isn't, and the podium circle has been replaced with a round spread of consoles wrapping around a center spire. The room is no longer concrete and steel, but rather stark white, all done up in glossy tile that looks like it'd crack if you hit it hard enough with something – that said, it's not recommended to try, given that it's just as indestructible as everything else in the building. Rachel approaches the consoles, reaching out to touch them, fingers tapping gently against several of the unmarked buttons; it's probably not precisely necessary for her to do so, given the state of things, but she seems to like doing it, so do it she shall. There are a pair of slots that look like keycards are required; she glances at them for a second before manipulating more buttons, causing a small panel to open up in front of her – it looks like an authorization mechanism of some sort, the kind that you press your hand against to get it to recognize you. "It's going to be a bit jarring when you wake up; sorry about that, but you've been asleep for a really long time. I'd suggest giving it a moment." She pauses, though, once that's out there, glancing back at everyone. "I'll be on the other side with you, but not like this. We can still talk, though, if you like." And with that she just turns and presses her hand against the panel without waiting for an answer; the next thing you're aware of is the flash.

Comments

[evilfrenzy]

I--!

[He starts, but then just...huffs indignantly. He can't believe that Yuri Lowell just called him the hell out.]

Keep talking like that and I really won't.

[hesperos]

[ His smile widens into a knowing grin that's like him saying 'gotcha'. ]

Y'know, you saying that makes me want to push my luck. I have no idea why, 'course.

[ Yuri pls. ]

[evilfrenzy]

[Yuri...]

Oh, I'm sure you don't. [He'll smirk a little, though. It's got a sense of fondness behind it.] Fine, then. Go ahead and try. We'll just have to see how far it gets you.

[hesperos]

I don't think I'll try now, you know. It's better when there's an element of surprise.

[ Yuri then tries to poke at Rideaux in the sides just because. ]

[evilfrenzy]

[Rideaux grabs Yuri by the wrists before he can reach. His reflexes seem to have recovered somewhat, at least.]

Good call. If that's the best you've got, you're going to need it.

[hesperos]

[ That's good, actually. ]

Wow, that sounds like a challenge, and you know how I feel about those.

...Guess I really gotta wait, though, seeing as you've still got me trapped within your clutches.

[ One of these days, Yuri will no longer have any urges to act ridiculous. Today is not one of them. ]

[evilfrenzy]

[That would be a sad day, too. Rideaux's playing along at least, smirking slyly.]

That is quite the problem for you, isn't it? [He gives Yuri's wrists a squeeze.] Are you going to do something about it?

[hesperos]

[ It would.

Anyway, there's now a smirk of his own on his face. He's been trying to hide it but whenever Yuri gets ridiculous Ideas, it becomes quite obvious he's plotting something. ]

I might not. I'm kinda powerless like this, you know?

[ Yuri lets his shoulders go slack and consequently his wrists in Rideaux's grip, but then he suddenly tries to jerk them backwards just because that's the next best idea he has. Also to see if he can catch him off guard (though he's not thinking too much about what could happen afterwards, good job Yuri.) ]

1/2

[evilfrenzy]

[Ohhh yeah, that smirk is not getting past Rideaux. Still, he continues as if nothing's going on.]

Like hell you are. If you ask me, I wonder if you like i--

[But whatever Rideaux expected Yuri to do, it wasn't this. Some kind of attempt to break out of his grip, yes. But this? No. Not only does it catch him off guard, it catches him off balance too. Yuri's action consequently yanks Rideaux forward, causing him to stumble right into Yuri.

Thankfully he has the reaction speed to prevent them both from toppling to the ground, but he does have to let go of Yuri's wrists and grab onto his shoulders from behind instead to secure some stability.]

[evilfrenzy]

[...]

Very smooth. Did you even consider the result of that, or did you just want to see the look on my face when you did it?

[hesperos]

[ Well, Yuri did have an answer to that question, should Rideaux had been granted a chance to finish -- and with that said, Yuri's triumph lasts very shortly because he didn't think of things enough to keep from it turning into a semi-disaster. Which it did right when Rideaux goes crashing right into him.

Once he's shifted his hands from his wrists, Yuri's hands went to reflexively grabbed a hold of the front of Rideaux's clothing just in case his own balance turned topsy-turvey. ]

Thanks.

... What if I say it's the latter of those two?

[evilfrenzy]

That was not a compliment...

[Despite that, he makes some kind of amused noise and shakes his head.]

Then I would say that I am not at all surprised. I like to think I am onto you about certain things at this point. [...] And are you satisfied with the results?

[He hasn't really rushed to break away from Yuri quite yet, opting to just thoughtfully take this moment in.]

[hesperos]

[ He'll take it as one anyway!! And as he's thinking about his next answer, he doesn't even consider pulling away. In fact, he actually wants to lean forward...just a little to lean against him. ]

...Actually, I'd say I'm pretty satisfied with how it went. I got to see the look on your face, which was hilarious, and I don't mind us standing around like this either.

[ There's a smile of sorts on his face still, which shouldn't be surprising, but it's a little softer now. Though it's still sort of mischievous. ]

Something tells me that you're alright with what happened too. Or am I wrong?

[evilfrenzy]

[That little action says a lot, and it's by no means unwelcome. Though he doesn't immediately show an outward reaction—all he really does is close his eyes for a moment—Rideaux feels that warm tightness in his chest again when Yuri leans against him. It still catches him by surprise because it's such an unfamiliar sensation, but it is nice. He likes it.]

You're not wrong. I suppose I'll let you have your entertainment without complaint just this once.

[He smirks right back, watching Yuri as his hands trail downward and settle at Yuri's sides. He tips his head forward and closer to Yuri's so he can lower his voice to a playful whisper.]

And would you look at that- I still have you in my clutches. I believe you only have yourself to blame this time.

[hesperos]

[ Yuri can't believe he's allowed himself to do something like that until he's actually given himself a moment to think about it. But, he's ... very happy that he did go and ahead to do something like that -- all of this, and being so close to Rideaux is certainly helping with that. ]

Yeah, you do. I think this is one of the times that I'm going to happily accept at least some of the blame.

[ He can feel his cheeks also begin to warm a bit now -- perhaps it may be from that whisper and the fact that they're like this right now. ]

But, I'm gonna say some of this is partially your fault for sure.

[evilfrenzy]

[It certainly puts things in a new perspective for the two of them. Rideaux can't help but internally consider this fact as he watches the color of Yuri's cheeks deepen, his own expression one of fondness. He thought he wasn't one for romance. Flirtations and flings were all well and good, but romance? That kind of emotional commitment was not his style, not with the life that he led and the importance he had placed upon himself. But things are different now. Yuri is different, if these unfamiliar sensations have been anything to go by.]

Oh? And how is any of this my fault? As I seem to recall, you made the first move.

[Not that he wouldn't just as happily accept any blame...]

[hesperos]

[ Honestly, romance wasn't Yuri's style either -- he sometimes flirted or did things in a very non-serious way whenever anything came to mind, and so that meant that anything deeper than that was usually off the table. Even moreso when he was dealing with all of that everything in that simulation, and part of him even tried to see if he could avoid it for even longer.

But, now they're here and it feels like he can do more than he could when they were trapped. So, before he knew it, he acted accordingly. ]

Yeah, I did, but I'm just going to see if I can shove off some of the blame to you anyway. Though, that doesn't seem to be working too well, huh?

[evilfrenzy]

[That just gets him to laugh a little, honestly. Lightly though, since they're still so close.]

You can't blame me for your acceptance of it.

[...]

I've obviously reciprocated, but I have to say I didn't expect it.

[He had no idea. Yuri hid things really damn well.]

[hesperos]

[ Yuri can be good at hiding things like this...or anything at all when he puts his mind to it. And he sure as hell put his mind to it a lot, even though he definitely had copious amount of moments where he went 'oh...' for lack of a better description. ]

Guess not.

[ ... ]

... Well, honestly, I didn't even know if I'd ever even make it obvious at all. Before it was the whole situation and then after it was not knowing how it'd go.

[evilfrenzy]

[The bingo square about him having a good poker face was certainly no joke.

Rideaux nods to the first bit since that's definitely understandable, but...he can't help but tease a little bit at the second.]

Are you saying you were nervous about how I'd react?

[He's taking an opportunity to tease Yuri, but it's actually pretty endearing to think of Yuri being nervous about something like this, considering how well he handled the gravity of the situation they just got out of.]

[hesperos]

[ At that teasing, the embarrassment shows on his face. It's kind of a little difficult to hide that, considering the situation now. Even with a good pokerface. ]

...Yeah, something like that.

[ His words sound kind of like a bit of a mumble and a grumble there. He knows when he's being teased!! ]

I don't get nervous very often, you know.

[evilfrenzy]

[Rideaux isn't going to help matters by looking pleased with himself about this. But it really is good information to have. It helps him process his own feelings on the matter a little further. Having this knowledge, though...he really must have put Yuri's feelings through the wringer more than he knew.]

Well, I have been told that I can be intimidating. It would only be natural to be nervous about confessing ones feelings to me.

[Which was by his own choice. He had put up quite a few walls around himself. But Yuri was very good at tearing them down.]

I don't know how long you had been holding this in, but you have no need to be concerned anymore. [...] If my reciprocation to your advances just now was any indication, I quite like the idea of giving our mutual sense of importance a more intimate definition.

[hesperos]

[ That he has! Though, Yuri is glad that given the way things happened when they did in regards to keeping such things to himself and that he chose his way of going about doing things. It seems that that worked out and he's honestly very grateful for that at least. ]

Heh, well, I didn't think that you were really intimidating after we got along pretty well. It was more...worrying about it ruining what we had, honestly.

[ ... And actually what could happen to either of them back then.

Though he'll allow a smile of sorts to come across his face. ]

But, it's kinda nice to know I don't have to worry about it anymore, and I don't think I imagined it going this well. But I'm happy about that too, you know?

[evilfrenzy]

In the event that I did not return your feelings, yes? That is understandable. [...] Honestly though, I believe you had a much smaller chance of ruining things between us than I did.

[That's meant to be reassurance, not one-upping or anything like that. Rideaux can only imagine how much more of a disaster the trial would've been if Yuri had said made his feelings clear any sooner. So not to leave that on a sour note, though...]

If it means anything, however, I... [Hm.] I may have shared these feelings for some time now. I suppose I simply did not know how to define them at the time, as they were completely unfamiliar.

[It felt like appreciation, but so much more. More than he could describe. Now that he's felt it again with Yuri in his arms, though? He thinks he has a clearer idea.]

I'm glad that you are happy, though. [...before he can say anything too sappy, he follows that up with:] Really, the only thing you have to concern yourself with now is figuring out how to impress me if you intend to take me on a date.

[hesperos]

[ It would've been an absolute mess -- and actually things becoming a shitshow in trials due to it is one of the myriad of reasons why he kept it to himself for so long.

...He's wearing kind of a knowing grin on his face when Rideaux mentions that he's 'glad that he's happy', that looks vaguely teasing all the same. Though... ]

Of course I'm definitely gonna take you out on a date.

[ Somehow that grin seems to look a bit more mischievous all the same. Part of him is so excited that he feels like he's about to be lift straight off of his feet. Not that he's going to say that because he'd die from embarrassment from saying something that sappy himself. Though he's got some really cheesy words in store for the future, likely enough. ]

Wherever we end up going or whatever we're doing is going to be a time to remember, that's for sure. I also already got some ideas, but I think I'll save them for when we get home. Y'know, to leave you in total suspense and all.