exsiliumlogs | [closed] yeah yeah and I'm alright

Entry tags:

[closed] yeah yeah and I'm alright

Date & Time: June 29 — July ∞
Location: Around Exsilium
Characters: Saul & TBA
Summary: A catch-all log for Saul's many business etc. meetings throughout the month, because otherwise there would be like a million logs up. Not even an exaggeration. An actual million.
Warnings: Drugs in Jesse's thread, violence in Coby's, sap in Effie's.

[Sometimes, the best way to get over something is to find a suitable distraction.

Since Saul's #1 distraction has always been work, he doesn't see why that can't be the case here as well — he may not technically be practicing law at the moment, but his skill set is undeniably useful. Extremely so. (As far as he's considered, anyway.) He doesn't need his own office or a secretary or a PI or a bodyguard to get plenty of shit done. He's Saul Goodman, for godssakes — what the hell good is he if he's not working?

His hands have been idle for too long, and look at where they've gotten him.

Devil's tools indeed.

So here he is, keeping busy. Training, doing business, drinking more coffee (and alcohol) than he probably should. Whatever works, right? Right.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well.

[ Effie looked mildly irritated. Unlike Saul she was often extremely honest about her feelings and opinions, of which she had many.

It wasn't that Effie couldn't think of something to do, the opposite was true. She could think of too many circumstances, and right now all of them seemed better than simply going home to sleep and wake up to another dreary day in Exsilium.

When Saul was finished paying up she closed her compact and slipped it back into her beaded clutch, sipping at the water while mulling over her final decision. ]

You've seen my accommodations, why don't you show me yours. I've heard some buildings are better than others and I'm looking to move.

[...that was an awfully fancy way of asking to go back to his place. Then again, he's not surprised.

But then again again, he totally is.

He almost looks at his glass in a bewildered sort of way, like, Did I really drink so much that I'm hearing things?

Almost. Doesn't, though.

If he was grinning before, he's positively beaming now. It's clear that he thinks Effie's suggestion is the best thing he's heard all night, and though there's not quite any wickedness to the curve of his lips just yet, there's a twinkle in his eye that wasn't there a second ago. He straightens a little, smoothing down his tie and adjusting his collar before standing.]

I'd love to. Ready?

[Saul looked entirely too pleased by her response, but Effie was alright with that. After so many days of negativity and feeling both lost and scared she craved positivity. She was used to being surrounded by smiling, satisfied people. For all that the Capitol was criticized at least the people there were happy and enjoyed life.

Was 'freedom' really worth the misery and sacrifice? Not in her opinion, however uninformed it was.

Effie returned his look with a modest smile. ]

Very. Shall we?

[In the same way he did when they first met, he offers his arm for the taking.

There are about a dozen different ways this can go. Saul being Saul, he's already cycling through the possibilities, jumping a full five steps ahead before they're even out of the restaurant. He can't help it; this is what he does. Anticipates, predicts, prepares.

So he's a little quiet on their walk back, but that won't stop him from stealing glances over at her every so often. His gaze is a little more analytical and searching than one might expect, given the circumstances.

Never let it be said that he's predictable.

Eventually:]

You look really nice tonight, by the way.

[He still thinks she looks ridiculous, but it's a ridiculousness he's getting used to.

And maybe kind of likes, a little, if the boyish way he offers up that compliment is any indication.

ew]

[ Now it's Effie's turn to beam at him. Her pale foundation is thin today so he might even be able to see the faintest stain of pink in her cheeks. Mostly due to the wine, but some of it his compliment and attention. ]

It's so much less than I'm used to working with, but one does what they can to remain presentable no matter the circumstances.

[ Effie walks with her head a little bit higher, a bounce in her high-heeled step. At night it was more difficult to see the strife marring the streets, and she was happy for the breath of 'fresh' air after the cozy and warm restaurant and all the food they had eaten. ]

I don't like to do things half way, and a date is a date.

[And all he can think is, thank God for small miracles. That makeup of hers is going to run out soon enough and he's pretty sure they don't stock whatever it is she layers on her face around here — he just hopes she's not desperate enough to...

...actually, he has no idea what the hell else she'd use.

Makeup.

Whatever.

He's a little on edge as they stroll back toward the building that's home to Saul and so many of the other Transports, hyper-vigilant and tuned in to both Effie and their surroundings. The last thing he needs is for them to get jumped, but he also doesn't want her to notice how anxious he is. He'll just talk over it.]

So — I live with two other guys. They're not around often, so you might not get to meet them, but if the place is a mess, it's their fault.

[No, really. Saul tries to keep the place tidy in spite of the perpetual drunkenness of Unit 409. It doesn't always work, as far as he's concerned.]

I'll forgive it.

Just this once.

[ The passive threat was followed by a smile, which meant she was only half serious- Effie was in a generous mood. Saul's arm was comforting and the night was still young and with a few cups of wine in her she was more willing to relax her standard of etiquette.

Saul's nervousness goes completely unnoticed because she is too busy looking around them, having mostly avoided the outdoors since arriving. The thought they might be attacked simply doesn't register to her, because she's from the Capitol where that sort of behaviour simply does not exist.

Punishment by death is a pretty good deterrent of minor crimes. ]

Are we almost there? I think you should make us some coffee, I don't want to catch a chill.

[Implying that she may be at his apartment again in the future...?

Saul lifts his free hand, mocking the three-fingered Scout salute. You know what that salute looks an awful lot like? The one used by residents of District 12.]

It'll be impeccably clean in the future. Promise.

[That's not actually a promise he can keep, but it's the thought that counts. Maybe. Anyway, he smiles at her suggestion, tilting his head to one side as they walk. Coffee. Sure. He'll warm her up with coffee.]

Almost. I've gotta warn you, though — the coffee's not great.

[ Her face paled considerably at his gesture, tugging away from his slightly with an uncomfortable expression.

Effie hated it. Why people would continue to do something that only caused trouble and death she just didn't understand. It was that selfish notion of rebellion that had twisted the Games and created this mess.

She couldn't think of coffee when all she saw was blood, and remembered how their tour had taken a turn for the worst. ]

Don't do that near me.

Edited 2013-07-25 18:07 (UTC)

[He blinks, taken aback by her reaction. Did she have a bad experience with a pack of rowdy Scouts, or what?

...does her world even have Scouts? He doubts it. His money is on this being one of those instances where one gesture means something entirely different to someone from another culture. Such is his luck.]

What, the salute I just did? It's used by Scout groups, in my world. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts... uh. Others.

Just don't.

[ Her words were more hissed than spoken, pulling his hand down if it still lingered anywhere above his waist.

Even more oddly than her violent reaction may have been the fact that even as her fingers clamped onto his wrist they were trembling, match the subtle flicker of fear in her heavily lashed and lined eyes. ]

I don't care who does it in your world, but in mine it could get you and I killed.

We don't know who is here, or who may be watching and I won't be seen with you if you continue to do it.

Edited 2013-07-25 18:25 (UTC)

[And instead of telling her to calm down, instead of telling her that there are plenty of people around here who'd kill them regardless of whether they're doing three-fingered salutes or flipping someone off, he frowns sympathetically and twists his hand around. Now, instead of clutching his wrist, she'll find that their fingers are laced together.

He understands her fear. It's the same fear he's lived with since his own arrival: that all the dangers of home would find their way back to him eventually, and they have. (Or it has, rather. He has.)

So Saul's voice is soft and quiet when he says:] Sorry.

[ Effie was certain she would remain upset and anxious for the rest of the night. Even moreso than usual because their impromptu date had been going so well, and she had actually found some sliver of enjoyment in this terrible city only to have it ruined.

Now she was mad at Saul, and Saul would be confused and either get mad at her back or simply be callous or apathetic. They would probably never go out again and she would be stuck chasing after Katniss and Peeta or never to leave her room because there was honestly nothing worth leaving for.

Then instead of pulling away and calling her silly or stupid or getting angry, Saul simply held her hand and apologized- absolutely the last response she had expected.

She didn't let go of his hand, and the irritation left her like an uncomfortably held breath, unwanted tears welling in her eyes. ]

I'm so tired of all this.

Edited 2013-07-25 18:51 (UTC)

[He understands that, too. Her exhaustion.

And while he was also expecting a different reaction — like a swift pull away, an angry glare, a threatening grumble of don't touch me — he's almost glad for the one he receives instead. He knows how to deal with this; Jesse's practically a well of tears threatening to overflow at any moment all the time, and though it was difficult to deal with at first, Saul eventually learned that what works best is to just be as solid and reassuring a presence as possible. The same approach worked with Stephanie, too.

So that's what he does now, squeezing Effie's hand and leaning a little closer.]

It gets easier.

Edited 2013-07-25 19:05 (UTC)

[ Effie wanted to believe Saul she really did.

It was obvious in the way her eyes widened like a small child being told something impossible they desperately wanted to believe, leaning closer as he did. ]

Does it really?

[He's not sure why — not that it matters, because he'll have plenty of time to mull this over later — but he's just decided, with an almost overwhelming sense of certainty, that he wants her. Maybe the loneliness has finally gotten to him, or maybe Effie's just vulnerable enough to think she sees something worthwhile in him, or maybe he's passed the point of desperation in needing to get over Stephanie, or maybe it's something else entirely, like the fact that he knows exactly where she's coming from and how she feels and how he wishes he had someone to kiss him and tell him everything would be fine from the second he showed up —

Or maybe it's just that this godforsaken city has turned him into an overemotional mess.

Maybe.

She's really close. Close enough that when he tilts his head downward, he's a fraction of an inch away from bumping noses with her, so he'll just stop right there and give her hand a tug so gentle it's barely noticeable and wait to see what happens.]

It does. Really.

[ Saul was too close, but Effie was finding it difficult to care. She had lost count of how many days it had been since they had first met, but it had been days and not weeks or months. They had only spent one evening together and only because Saul had said terrible things and made her cry.

Yet here she was, on her way to his place. Partially because there was nowhere better to go or anyone better to be with, but also because Saul had shown her more compassion and warmth in this one evening than anyone else had. Effie didn't blame Katniss, Peeta or Haymitch. They were simply different form her because they had been born in a different place to different circumstances. She was glad to see them alive and well but without the Games, without their professional relationship what was their relationship? Being away from the Capitol was confusing and despite her abduction she had never lived with so much freedom, and the lack of guidance from a government was not a relief- it was terrifying.

Often she found men only complicated things in stood in the way of her career, but this was different. Being this close felt good and secure and even if she barely knew him Saul was telling her it was going to get better and that was exactly what she wanted to hear.

It's odd that he wears no makeup and she can see every pore of his face, which hasn't been retouched by any surgery, but his eyes are nice and there's something charm about how honest he looks- even if deep down she knows better. So she doesn't pull away, and instead with that tug actually closes whatever small distance there is between them so she can actually lean against his chest and rest her weight on only one spiked heel. ]

I'll believe you.

[That's not what he was expecting. What he was expecting — or at least hoping for — was a kiss. What he's getting instead takes his breath away like no kiss can; it's a vague panic that seizes him by the throat, a too-familiar feeling that sends his memory tumbling through Jesse's apartment and the infirmary and the stairwell and how many times, at this point, has Saul found himself holding someone scared?

When did he stop protecting people from the law and start protecting them from themselves?

He releases his grip on her hand so he can wrap both arms around her. This is all against his better judgment, mind — it's late, they're out, they're both obviously Transports, Saul's unarmed, there's a good chance Effie will pick up on the way his heart is hammering against his chest and he is so not cut out for this. Any of it.

But someone must think he is, because it keeps happening.

After a moment of holding her and breathing in all that too-sweet perfume of hers, he clears his throat.]

We really shouldn't stay out here for too long.

I know.

[ He was right. Not because Effie had any real awareness of the danger they were in, but because it was getting cold, and after that earlier sass about Saul's coat she wasn't about to ask for it now. Effie had shoes for walking and shoes for being seen in, and she was wearing the latter and her toes were starting to cramp in the pointed ends.

Despite that, she didn't want to move. It was quiet out here and they were alone and Saul's arms around her felt so good and Effie didn't want that to end. For all that she smelled sweet, he smelled like musk and a combination of heady spices that no Capitol gentleman would have been caught wearing. Effie wouldn't have thought it was a smell she could like, but right now she didn't want to give it up because she was feeling selfish and needy and clingy.

Not for the first time she was glad that no one she knew from Panem could see her, she could only imagine the looks on their faces. It was that thought, and her guiltily remembered propriety that finally made her breathe deeply one last time and pull away. ]

Is it far?

[And isn't this just like Saul to not want her to let go, either, once again in way too deep way too fast. This is how he works; all or nothing. How many times has that approach bitten him in the ass by now?

Answer: He's lost count.

Maybe that makes him a masochist.]

Not far.

[The walk from where they are to the housing building isn't far at all, and from there it's just five flights up and a short trip down the hallway to 509. No one's home, as Saul had suspected (and, let's be honest, hoped). The unit isn't anything special: sparsely decorated, but neat enough, considering three single — sorry; considering two single men live there.

...is that jumping the gun?

It's not a lack of manners that has him stepping out of his shoes and tossing his coat on the back of the couch when they enter. If anything, the yawn he stifles behind his hand might tip Effie off to his sudden lack of decorum.]

Did you say you wanted coffee?

[ It looked more like a home than her own accommodations. Surprisingly neat, even though Saul had told her so she hadn't actually expected it.

Without pause she crossed the room to sit herself down on his couch, folding one leg over the other and leaning back into the cushion. The walk and the wine in combination were making her eyelids feel heavy.

Maybe going to Saul's hadn't been the brightest idea. ]

Yes, please.

[She shouldn't sit on that couch, if she's already sleepy — Saul's knocked out there multiple times in the past because it's just so. Damn. Comfy. But he doesn't warn her, because she looks exhausted and he wouldn't really mind it if she did decide to fall asleep.

He watches her for a moment before slipping into the kitchen to make the coffee. After a few minutes, he calls out toward the living room:]

How do you take it?

Cream and sugar, two and two.

[ It really was a comfy couch. When Saul returned to the living room one pink shoe dangled from Effie's painted toes and her eyes were closed to the dim lighting, but she wasn't passed out. Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks with the movement and she glanced over to him, looking both sleepy and relieved by his return. ]

Maybe that third glass of wine was a little much.

Edited 2013-07-28 20:30 (UTC)

[Light and sweet. Just like Saul likes his women.

HEY-OH~

He emerges from the kitchen not a minute after asking and sets one mug down on the small coffee table in front of the couch, nudging it over Effie's way. The other remains in his hands as he joins her, carefully flopping back against the cushions and not stifling this latest yawn. One sleepily-mumbled "'scuse me" later, he takes a sip from his mug.

His glittery, pink unicorn mug.

His handmade, glittery, pink, World's Greatest Laywer unicorn mug.]

[ Effie took a small sip of her coffee before noticing the legendary beauty of Saul's mug. First her eyes widened, then her brow quirked and the corner of her painted mouth twitched.

Effie went to take another drink, but after a moment longer of staring at him she couldn't help but giggle behind her hand. Men in the Capitol were often fond of both glitter and pink, but she wasn't sure they suited Saul's style. ]

World's greatest something.

[closed] yeah yeah and I'm alright

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