𝑭𝑶𝑹 𝒁𝑨𝑼𝑵....

ᚐ҉ᚐ˚｡° 「♡⇢↻」

-- man and his uncomfortably readily offered kindness, slipping away down the hall to have a moment in the dark before succumbing to the alcohol in his system. morning would certainly be.....𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.

-- the bar, were silco to ask. sit within arms reach as he rested, were he to seek that company. ....but its 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 that wins out in the end this time. 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸. "good night, vander. we will....pick this back up come morning." and with that he leaves both the --

"so 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨....that sort of foolishness will get you killed one of these days." he advises in reply, the doorframe taking most of his weight as he 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴, lowered inhibitions allowing for a display of the inner conflict between his need to escape from this --

"oh I believe you. you've always been a terrible lier." whether or not silco 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 to believe him was another matter, but... "are you telling me what you've told the children about me boils down to 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 bedtime stories? nothing else?"

"that's half an answer at 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵, vander." he points out simply, resting the side of his head against a propped head, brow raised. "did you ever tell them anything about me at all? do they even know who I am? who I was? be honest."

-- same lens. moving forward would take a bit more than one little moment, one conversation.

-- narrow hall, but... "ensure I make no needless detours? that I have no ulterior motives?" the edges might be blurring, boundary lines smeared and warped...but silco would 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 be the man he had once been, nor would he ever quite see vander the same way, through the --

"I wouldn't get used to it." no doubt he'd have plenty of petty insult to throw again once the pleasant, buzzing warmth granted by alcohol receded into painful, throbbing regret. but that was a problem for 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 silco to consider and 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 vander to --

he hums, dropping his chin into one hand, continuing to map old marks and new scuffs over the countertop with the other. "I suppose a better question would be what HAVE you told them? how....𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 will they be, seeing me here?"

-- you've always kept?"

-- but steadying himself quickly enough, brushing off....and then slowly retracting his touch, trying not to 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵 as he made his way towards the door into the back. he leaves the bottle without a second glance, in the end. "I assume its the same spare room --

"oh its plenty obvious, don't mistake. my observation isn't insult." no....it was as simple as lamentation. 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 in a twisted, bitter sort of comparison. vander 𝘸𝘢𝘴 the better man, and silco...had done what he 𝘩𝘢𝘥 to. had stained his hands with --

ah- there was one such mark, as clear as if he'd been picking at it just that morning. what caught his attention though was another next to it. a shallower, messier copy of the shape not by his hands.... ".....what are you going to tell the children?"

-- bed to spend the night."

-- come here tonight at all.....and now all I have to look forward to is a bad hangover and more shame than I managed to drink away, shame you won't even care to revel." he sighs, closing his eyes a moment. "......I suppose while I'm at it I might as well ask for a --

-- bitterness as he drew up the contract that still remained neatly folded and tucked within an inner pocket lining his vest. any regrets he might find himself with in the wake of tonight, he realized in a moment of startling clarity, would ultimately be --