V i d e o || 001

[takethereigns]

[ When the fog of waking up somewhere new lifts enough, Jean moves into the shocked stage of wandering around Genessia. He doesn't know these streets and little by little he's forcing himself not to think about the likelihood of not knowing someone being extremely high. He's also purposefully not thinking about how much of a relief it had been the last time this happened and Armin was there. Or about the Maeve dicking him over.

But it's only after chasing down a slim blonde figure wearing a powder blue dress, mistaking it for someone he cared for, that the shock shatters. He dumbly apologizes and steps back a few paces, looking panicked and lost. They shrug him off and walk away, leaving Jean to run his fingers through his hair. Soon, he presses his back against the cool concrete of a building and fumbles for the phone he was given.

It's different from his other one, but it's not something he can't navigate now. He exhales, thumb hovering over the video button. There's a chance that Armin and Eggsy are here, but there's also a chance he's alone. Either way, it didn't change the facts. He turns the video on, trying to look as calm as he can despite the pit of his stomach feeling hollow. ]

Can someone tell me where the hell I can rent a room here?

Comments

[takethereigns]

Yeah. Making me question her safety was a great way of doing that.

[ At least living with the three of them, Sertoria would probably be well enough protected. Especially if Mikasa alone was even half as protective over her as she was with Eren. ]

[inhisdebt]

You know... I think her safety is just fine. I play a pretty big role around her these days.

[Is that a rare Mikasa (very faint) smile? It sure is! Better notice it before it melts away again! She's not sure why, but this felt comfortable...]

[takethereigns]

Somehow I don't doubt that. If you can handle one reckless idiot, you can handle another.

[ Not... that he's calling Sertoria a reckless idiot. He's not. He's saying that Mikasa is capable of handling more than one.

It doesn't escape him that this feels a little too easy, though. Mikasa is actually holding a conversation with him, and outside of battle that... Well. It wasn't normal. Was this because of the previous times he'd been here or was it something else? Maybe their individual experiences changed them enough that just the familiarity helped. Who the hell knew? But it had him looking over at her at just the right time to notice her smile.

Gently, he nudges her arm with his elbow. ]

You look nice when you smile, you should do it more often.

[inhisdebt]

[Anything that she was about to say was sort of forgotten once she heard that comment. She hadn't even noticed, but now that he pointed it out.....]

No promises on that. [Luckily they were getting closer to the archway now.]

[takethereigns]

[ Jean gives a small amused sound and falls silent beside her. Instead, he focuses on trying to remember streets. Not because he thinks he'll suddenly have a flood of memories, but because he's probably going to need to know how to get around this place soon enough. And if the place was as big as it sounded, it was going to be a lot more difficult than navigating Eros. ]

[inhisdebt]

[Not too long after, they make it through and are close to the mansion. It was pretty hard to miss at some point, so she'll point that way once it starts to come into view.]

That's home there.

[takethereigns]

[ The sad truth of the matter is if Mikasa is looking for a low whistle or some indication that he's impressed, she's in for a rude awakening. It's a nice place, don't get him wrong, but it's not going to be the first mansion he's lived in. ]

Can I... [ Okay, how to put this at least somewhat delicately. ] Not stay in the room I had before?

[inhisdebt]

[She's not expecting anything really. He can feel the way he wants, she doesn't care. Also if she had any memories, she'd say that he used to live in the same room as she did, but since that's not the case...]

I don't see why not. There are plenty of other rooms in the mansion after all.

[takethereigns]

...Thanks.

[ It's a good thing she didn't remember that. Being surrounded by another life would make him wonder too much. It would make him uncomfortable and aggravated. Not that it was terribly hard to get under his skin or anything in the first place, but it would be so much easier if there were expectations and trinkets of a life he didn't remember.

He wasn't going to say any of that, though. Instead, he follows Mikasa inside and lets his eyes wander. ]

This place looks a lot better than the Crossing.

[inhisdebt]

[The inside was fairly well decorated and repaired by now. They'd worked hard over the year or so to repair everything although it might not be the cleanest with Levi gone now.]

What was the Crossing like?

[takethereigns]

A lot bigger and more crowded. Insane, too. Over Halloween the front yard turned into a cornstalk maze.

[ Over that same Halloween, he also gradually turned into a sexy gunslinger because that's what the Maeve wanted. Everyone turned into their costume for trick or treat.

Unprompted, he probably won't say much more about Lilith's Crossing, though. And definitely never anything explicit. ]

[inhisdebt]

That.... doesn't sound like fun at all.

[takethereigns]

It wasn't. That maze could kiss my ass.

[ There's a little too much gusto in his words, letting Mikasa know just how much he hated having been lost in that damnable thing. He's still not sure how he managed to get out but he was never going to step foot in it again. ]

[inhisdebt]

[And yet Mikasa was used to it by now.]

I doubt you'll have to worry about helping with rent, but it might not hurt to get a job just in case if you wanted to buy something down the road. Between Armin and I, money really isn't an issue anymore. We don't exactly spend it on a lot of stuff ourselves.

You used to work at the Schnee Company with the rest of us, but that's up to you if you'd like to try to work there again.

I currently work there for the Nova City branch security, but I'm also a Deputy Guardian of Genessia City.

[takethereigns]

I don't plan on being a mooch, Mikasa. [ Said with a little more annoyance than he probably intended on. ] What did I do at this Schnee Company?

[inhisdebt]

I didn't say you were going to. [Said bluntly, but really, she had enough money.]

Most of us did security. Right now Sertoria also works security there and Armin is Weiss's assistant.

[Showing him to an empty room that was still in decent shape.]

Would this work?

[takethereigns]

[ He walks into the room, suddenly feeling a little weird about all of this. Everything was so innocent that it belatedly struck him as odd that Mikasa was only expecting him to get a job to pay for himself. Unless there were hidden ulterior motives, which he doubted.

And honestly, he's getting a little frustrated with himself that he's having to play catch up with his realizations and emotions. It's just all so much to take in right now. Did living under the Maeve really change him that much? ]

Yeah, this is great. Are there shops close? If this Schnee Company wants to hire me back [ That sounded weird on his tongue! ] I don't want to show up in the same thing every day.

[inhisdebt]

[Mikasa was't all that concerned about rent anymore. Not when they had all saved up a lot of money while being here. She could handle simple expenses after all.]

Yeah. If you'd like, we could go and find yourself some new clothing, although there still might be some left over in your room you had before? [Probably in her closet now. She hasn't paid too much attention to it to even notice it yet.]

[takethereigns]

That's probably a better idea. I don't know how much things cost here yet, that starter money might not be enough to last.

[ And like hell he wants to be a burden on any of them. ]

[inhisdebt]

I have more than enough money to buy some stuff for you. I don't exactly spend my money often. Besides, you should save your starter money. It might come in handy.

[takethereigns]

[ Yeah, no. That's a line crossed there Mikasa. It raises his hackles enough that he tenses up. ]

Listen, [ The word comes out harsh, annoyed, and he turns to face her, looking serious. ] I don't need you to pay for me, and if you're going to offer it so easy I don't want to wonder what you'd have me do to pay you back, so save it.

[ And to be honest, despite the money the Maeve let him keep after he took clients, he would feel a hell of a lot more free paying for himself by making an honest living anyway. Nevermind that his mindset is still to be cautious, in case Mikasa wanted him to pay her back in ways he was more fluent with now. Even though rationally he knows she can't possibly know that detail about him yet, if ever. ]

[inhisdebt]

I wasn't expecting you to pay me back. We're friends aren't we? [Something like that, Mikasa...] But if you really don't want me to pay for you, thats fine. I'm not going to push it.

[takethereigns]

Yeah, I just-- [ want to be normal again. ] don't need you to do that.

[ The tension slips some, letting him sag a little, even if his jaw is still clenched. ]

Where are those clothes?

[inhisdebt]

This way.

[Leading the way to his room. There's only some of the clothing there because there's a good amount in her walk in closet from when they lived in the same room, but she hasn't taken notice ever since losing memories that they dated.]

[takethereigns]

[ He falls into silence as he follows her, hands hanging loosely by his sides. He's not sure what to expect when he sees the clothing. It shouldn't be a shock since they were his before being... his. Again. But somehow it was strange. ]

This is going to sound weird, but was he-- I mean was I--

[ A frustrated sound. ]

Nevermind. I'll just end up giving myself a headache trying to ask stupid questions.