☤ hey, are you okay? you look pretty low

[tothegunshow]

Name(s): Riza Hawkeye, Hatori Sohma
Location: Infirmary, Hatori's office
Week: 52
Time: Friday Afternoon
Rating: PG..?

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[stuckwithidiots]

And while Riza had locked herself in her office with tea, the moment after he had managed to get away from her that previous weekend, Hatori had told Joy to take care of things--it had been a slow and quiet day, thankfully--and locked himself in his office, bottle of sake in hand. Normally, he didn't drink alcohol in that sort of quantity, but the whole matter had confused the man in ways he wasn't ready to face yet.

He had kissed her back when she had latched herself on to him.

Why?

Part of him felt dirty for it. Confused. For the first time, thoughts of Kana had been erased from his mind only to crash back with full force the moment the alcohol's effects had worn off. No wonder Ayame and Shigure were always so worried about him. It was unhealthy. But he definitely knew that whatever had passed between him and Riza, he had actually enjoyed it. Liked it. Though he couldn't stop thinking about Kana...

Emotions could be so pointless.

At the sound of the knock, Hatori glanced up at the door. "Come in."

[tothegunshow]

Riza opened the door firmly when Hatori called out, and was immediately hit with the strong smell of alcohol. It was clear to her that Hatori had chosen more effective methods of memory erasure, although the reason for this wasn't exactly clear to her. Had he really been so affected by one kiss

[stuckwithidiots]

It wasn't so much the kiss that affected him as what the kiss meant. And Kana. It always came back to Kana, in the end, and his curse. Akito.

Granted, some of the bottles around the world had been shared with him by Shigure. As much as he did drink, he was more responsible than that, and he had an infirmary to help run.

Hatori stood up, shaking his head at the apology. "Please, Professor Hawkeye," he said, finally remembering to use the correct form of her name. Hawkeye. Not Riza. "I should apologize." And he really should have. Letting her make a fool of herself hadn't been his intentions at all, considering that he knew she had been under the effects of a love potion.

Hatori had no answer to that question. Nothing that was plausible or would sound truthful to him. He stared at her in silence, shoving his hands into his pockets, not sure what to say. This was not something he was used to. With a sigh, he said the first thing that came to mind. "I don't know."

[tothegunshow]

Riza nodded. "Perhaps we were both at fault, but I accept your apology," she wasn't going to deny that he had been a willing and un-love-potion'd participant. But she did feel partially responsible for his current seclusion, even if he spent most of his time in the infirmary anyway.

I don't know. That answer surprised Riza herself into silence. She stared back at him for a long moment; couldn't help but notice how piercing his one eye could be. "That makes two of us," she muttered, rubbing her forehead absently. She was, however, determined to deal with it

[stuckwithidiots]

"Perhaps, but you..." He paused for a moment, realizing that it would be foolhardy to continue speaking the words he had thought of. Telling her that she had be under the influence of a stray love potion only made it all the more obvious that he hadn't been, and so his actions had no justification beyond the fact that he was a lonely man. As much as he tried to deny that fact.

Hatori's lips twitched into something near a smile at her words. That makes two of us. If he didn't understand the situation, he was sure that Riza wouldn't have either. Still, it was nice to hear it said.

Seeing Riza slip, Hatori went into overdrive, moving towards her, despite the fact that he knew exactly what would happen if he caught her. Instead, she caught herself just in time, but that didn't stop the man from grabbing a hold of her arm to help steady her, an awkward smile on his face. "I should have cleaned this place days ago. I'm sorry."

/breaks out the lateness cookies

[tothegunshow]

"I know you weren't intending to make a fool of me," she said softly. Of course Hatori wouldn't do that. "It doesn't make you a bad person." Even if she knew his actions were... questionable, she still trusted and respected the man.

Hatori's hand on her arm was an ironic reversal of roles from their previous meeting. Yet she found it, and his smile, not particularly unpleasant. She sighed apologetically, a small smile of her own appearing. "I'm not normally this clumsy," she found herself staring into that solitary dark eye again, and noticing it wasn't quite so blank as usual. There was something there that hadn't been before Riza had been love potion'd. Odd.

/omnomnomnom

[stuckwithidiots]

No, he was not intending to make a fool out of either them, but they seemed to have done a pretty good job on themselves regardless. "Not a bad person. A questionable one, perhaps." Hatori tried to say it lightly, as though it were a joke, but the honest truth of the matter was that he believed he was a bad person for reasons entirely unrelated to Riza.

It would seem that he would always be haunted by Kana.

His hand did not linger long on her arm. As soon as he made sure that she would be fine standing on her own, he dropped his touch, leaning down to pick up the stray bottle and tossing it into the trashcan near his desk. Whatever was there in his eyes, well... Not even Hatori knew for sure, but the effects of the love potion were making him feel outwardly again. "That was my fault, not your own."

[tothegunshow]

Fools yes, but it could have been worse. Much worse, considering the scarred tattoo on her back, the secrets that it held. Even if the burns made it barely decipherable now, Riza still sometimes felt the burden of it; lighter than before it was marred, but still there. A physical reminder of past mistakes