[closed] yeah yeah and I'm alright

[5055034455]

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.]

Comments

[powdered]

[ 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.

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[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.

[powdered]

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?

[5055034455]

[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?

[powdered]

[ 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.

[5055034455]

[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?

[powdered]

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.

[5055034455]

[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.]

[powdered]

[ 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.

[5055034455]

[The giggling catches his attention. When he realizes what has her so amused, Saul almost looks sheepish, smirking and ducking his head. He turns the mug around so she can get a better look.]

Indeed. A friend made it for me.

[He's not so crazy about the glitter and he could care less about unicorns (except for when he's making the claim that he is one), but pink is a pretty rad color. He looks good in pink.]

She recognizes legal prowess when she sees it.

[powdered]

You have a lot of friends here.

[ The unicorn got another smile out of her. Downing the coffee had done a little to perk her up, but with Saul sinking into the couch beside her sitting properly was difficult and it felt so good to slouch into the cushions. He had that effect on her. Manners somehow fell to the wayside and she ended up doing whatever felt good in the moment, which was both unsettling and dubiously relaxing.

How much would being in Exsilium change her? Would she end up forgetting everything she had ever loved or believed in? People were so adamant about fitting in here. ]

That must be nice.

[5055034455]

[It's weird, how that statement makes his expression break into a lopsided, silly sort of grin. He hadn't quite thought about it, but she's right; he does have a lot of friends here. The list of people who care about him now far exceeds the list of people who hate him and/or want him dead, which is... an odd feeling.

He turns the mug around again and gulps down another mouthful, then sets it on the table and oh-so casually stretches out, one arm coming to rest along the back of the couch near Effie's shoulders.

Yeah. He totally just used that move.]

It is.

[powdered]

I have many friends in the Capitol- fans too.

[ Saul used that move, and she noticed. Effie rolled her eyes but didn't pull away. Even with the warmth of the coffee in her belly she was still a little chilly. It was ridiculous how the temperature in Exsilium wasn't closely monitored and controlled, the unpredictable and generally unpleasant weather was damaging to both mood and health. ]

Every night is a new party or social gathering and only the truly hopeless eat or drink alone.

[ She squirmed as if to make herself more comfortable, though it was the discomfort in her mind making her do so. The loneliness that had ebbed with dinner and conversation and seemed to be returning as the buzz faded and ambience faded. ]

This is the first night I've spent with anyone here.

[5055034455]

Fans, huh?

[Saul's a fairly well-recognized presence in Albuquerque due to those stupid ads of his all over the damn place, but he doesn't think he has fans. He can see how Effie would, though. So vibrant, so well put-together, such a presence, so... pretty, in this light...

Oh, Christ.

He frowns slightly at her change in tone. The way she says it — that this is her first night in someone else's company — it sounds like a confession better suited for a church than Saul's living room. Speaking of Jesus...]

This place takes a lot of getting used to. I'm coming up on four months here, and I still... [His frown deepens as he glances over at her. Soon enough, his fingertips are brushing the fabric covering her shoulder.] It's tough.

[powdered]

[ She smiled wanly at his response, exhaling softly before speaking again. ]

People in the Capitol respect and admire me.

Everyone in Exsilium thinks I am stupid and trite and I know they mock me.

[ She turned to look at him, her eyes large and visibly glistening even beneath the thick fringe of her spidery eyelashes. The expression she wore was somewhere between pouty, pleading and desperate and made her face look both older and younger than it was.

Her hands rested between them on the couch, pale and clenching at upholstery. ]

I don't want to get used to it.

I want to go back to my career, the friends I already have and the city I know.

I feel helpless here and I hate it.

[5055034455]

[So this is not how their night was supposed to go. The last thing he needs is her crying again, and the second-to-last thing he needs is to be reminded of his own shitty situation. He knows exactly how she feels — for all that he genuinely likes it here despite its many faults, he still misses the comforts of home. He misses his office, he misses having a secretary, he misses having people to do his dirty work, he misses having dirty work to do...

...okay, maybe not so much that last one.

But when Effie looks at him like that, he feels like he's looking in a mirror. This place is scary; he can see the steady toll it's taking on him when he wakes up the morning and the gray at his temples has crawled a little higher, when the darkness under his eyes has turned them a darker shade of blue. He doesn't sleep well. Being awake is its own problem.

He doesn't want any of that to happen to her. She'll have to change, of course — there's no escaping that, no matter how much hatred she projects out into this new universe. And there will be times when she's terrified instead of angry. She might even get hurt. But he can help.

He's great at distracting people.

This is why he shifts around so that he's sitting sideways and, without hesitation or ceremony, leans in to press a light kiss to her lips. When he pulls back, he's smirking, one eyebrow playfully arched.]

Everyone?

[powdered]

[ Effie had been expecting Saul to laugh at her or criticize her, not kiss her. His lips were just a little bit rougher and cooler than her own. His mouth was as generous as it was big, which really was saying something.

Effie was irritated, and she didn't know if it was because he had kissed her without asking- or because he had stopped. When he pulled back she quickly retreated as well, powdered cheeks flushed and eyes wide. She couldn't remember the last time she had been kissed, the Games and tour had kept her so busy. ]

Saul!

D-don't tease me!

[5055034455]

[...of all the possible responses.

Effie obviously does not know the meaning of that word. Here's an idea: Saul should teach her!

He leans in again, but doesn't go for another kiss just yet. Instead, he bumps noses with her, smirk yielding to a full grin. Is he pushing it? Maybe. Is this his usual modus operandi? Sure is.]

Now why would I do that?

[powdered]

[ She wrinkled her nose in turn, eyeing with him with disdain and an increasingly pink face. ]

Because you are terrible.

[ Except that he had pulled her from that dangerous downward spiral of negative thought, and made it much easier for her to be flustered and irritated rather than depressed. ]

Now I'll have to fix my gloss!

[5055034455]

[He's been called a lot of things. "Terrible" is a new one, though.

In this context, anyway.

Saul chuckles, the sound low and quiet in his throat, thinking of all the other things she'd have to fix if he had his way — but he'll instead settle on making those lips of hers a little messier with another kiss, this one hardly as light as the first.]

There are worse things.

[powdered]

[ How did this man continue to catch her off-guard? Effie had fended off the attention of men much more powerful and convincing than Saul, whom she had accepted more from and offered even less. It was impossible to predict this brazen fool, who wouldn't stop kissing her and mucking up her makeup and threatening the neat wall she put between herself and unplanned personal relations.

He wasn't playing the game fairly, and for once Effie felt over her head with a man- which was both dizzying and intimidating and for all that she pondered her surprising situation she wasn't making much effort to put any space between their bodies or even stop him from kissing her further. ]

Says you.

[5055034455]

[Saul has that effect on people, and he knows it. He's good at making his actions seem spontaneous — like the way he lifts one hand to cup her cheek and smear some of that blush away — but the truth is, he's five steps ahead at any given moment, planning for any and all contingencies just in case.

One might suspect all that thinking would be a distraction, but no; he's attentive, he's careful, and he's very much there in the moment right alongside her, ready to follow her lead.

He laughs again. It's a good-natured sound, one that's muffled slightly against her mouth.

So eloquent, Effie.]