184 Near Disasters

[cal_sitter]

Action[Niko is up well before dawn, well before what even he considers a civilized hour, and moving silently through the apartment. He laces his running shoes, pulls on a light jacket over a tee-shirt and jeans, and ties his hair back in a tight tail at the nape of his neck. A relatively light load of weapons--only ten knives and his wakizashi--

Comments

action; assumedly after Niko's made his way to the dojo

[winewomenand]

[There is a scratching of keys in the door to the dojo before Robin enters with a shake in his fingers that belies a man trusting in espresso to get him through work that day. He walks further in and spots Niko, but while most normal, polite people would ask if they should come back later, Robin only watches Niko work through a kata before turning away, as if he hasn't noticed his presence.

If the Leandros boy wants to talk he will.]

action;

[cal_sitter]

[Niko momentarily chastises himself for not checking the schedule to see who was coming to work and when this morning. He had the paperwork out. He is the owner. He should have known.

Without breaking the rhythm of the prescribed movements, Niko speaks.]

Have you tried sleeping lately?

[He knows it's a hypocritical question, coming from the mouth of a man who barely managed two hours last night.]

action;

[winewomenand]

[Robin notices the hypocrisy, but says nothing. He knows better than to start bringing up that particular vice when he's even more liable to have fingers pointed for it. He stares over his shoulder at Niko for a long moment, before dragging the bottled iced coffee and the newspaper from under his armpit.]

I'll sleep when I'm dead.

[ A considering yawn. That could be a long time. ]

I'll sleep sometime within the next forty-eight hours. I have catching up to do. Notches in my bedpost to make. Cops to ingratiate myself to.

action;

[cal_sitter]

Leave the captain alone. She knows what you prefer to do in the dark and she's not impressed.

[After the trip to the underground, there's no need for a particularly energetic or violent kata, and Niko smoothly transitions to the next movement, modifying a pattern meant for a full length katana to suit the wakizashi.]

action;

[winewomenand]

Maybe I just like the thought of her handcuffing me.

[A shrug at the comment about Holly and he tosses himself into a chair in the office like he owns the place (and in his defense, he usually does), leaving the door open so he can watch Niko move.]

Those are prettier when you do them with your shirt off in a hotel room.

action;

[cal_sitter]

It's a functional art, Robin, one that has nothing to do with your feeble hopes.

[Niko delivers the comment in a tone that lessens the sting, transforms the words from insult to good-natured teasing.]

I'll be out of your way before lessons begin.

action;

[winewomenand]

Isn't that an oxymoron? Functional art?

[The newspaper opens with a fine flick of a wrist, followed by the pop of a bottlecap. He affects a bored expression, but there's a hint of a wrinkle in the sides of his eyes. ]

Stay as long as you like. I just figured it would be useless to go back and get two hours of sleep. Easier to get work out of the way and then go home and crash. Ignore me while I go through my own morning rituals. I don't even exist. I'm invisible. As unto a zephyr.

action;

[cal_sitter]

A zephyr rattling a dozen or more windchimes while it scatters papers through the street, perhaps.

[The short sword cuts a few more arcs before Niko sketches the final, fatal strike and goes still, holding the position a moment before he steps out of the kata, rather than initiate another.]

action;

[winewomenand]

Nobody likes an extended metaphor, Niko Leandros.

[He drinks half of his coffee before noticing Niko quitting, and then swings the chair to face him fully with an almost disappointed voice.]

Why are you stopping?

action;

[cal_sitter]

It may be because I've been moving since three o'clock this morning and am merely human.

[Once he's sheathed the sword and set it aside, he leans past Robin to take up the paperwork he abandoned when Holly was visiting.]

Besides, you are never going to convince me to take my shirt off for your enjoyment.

action;

[winewomenand]

[Robin quickly vacates the office chair under pretense of opening up a window. He leans his elbows on it and squints into the distance. The sun's rising by now.]

Don't get more sleep and your sickly, dehydrated, baggy-eyed ass won't hold any appeal to me to begin with. Please, do a favor, keep the shirt on. Nice sweat stains, by the way.

action;

[cal_sitter]

I think I still may be edging ahead of you in number of hours spent resting.

[When he sits down he shows no overt signs of fatigue, but Robin's right about the wear that Niko exhibits.]

You claimed a few days ago that eau de l'homme was an aphrodisiac for you. Senility?

action;

[winewomenand]

[Despite the many recent unfortunate turns, Robin can smell spring in the air, and it's enough to instill a particular mixture of serenity and anxiousness. Hello, rutting season. Sorry, brothers Leandros.]

It is. I was paying you a compliment, so take it and feel blessed. Anyway, we need to figure out how to make sure you take care of yourself. Safe from the Auphe isn't necessarily safe.

Your line of work makes enemies, and frankly, I could probably wipe the floor with you right now.

action;

[cal_sitter]

Now you're admitting that I can best you on a good day?

[Niko's eyebrows climb towards his hairline.]

What is it you smell out there? Fumes?

action;

[winewomenand]

I'm admitting that lately you can best me on a desperate day.

[The darkness in the puck's voice flees as quickly as it came and he turns around to lean against the wall casually.]

It smells like plants fucking.

action;

[cal_sitter]

[There's no answer for the latter statement other than hiding one's face in one's hands. Niko compromises between that and his image by pinching the bridge of his nose as he closes his eyes as if praying for patience.]

If you so much as attempt to organize one fertility right in this dojo, I will not need to be desperate to string you up by your toes.

[He scrubs his hand over his face and leans back in the chair to look Robin in the eye.]

And I'm well aware that if something doesn't change, the effects of my current sleeping patterns may cause permanent damage.