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[sunsetking]

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[sunsetking]

[The laughter...is nice to hear. He'll admit it. Almost like a sense of normalcy between them.

Except he's seen Claude's reaction when he gave that head bump. The way those ears turns a bit red. But he won't bring it up. Not right now. And as soon as he's released?

He takes another step back to gain a little more distance between them. Enough room to breathe without being in each other's personal space too much.]

Promise you what?

[He slides his pen back into his pocket.]

[deepstar]

[ Yeah... Khalid thought that Leona might need some space after this conversation anyway. However, its gone a lot better than he had anticipated. Still, some of that respect for personal space is needed. Something between them has definitely shifted and Khalid can't say that he feels like it's a bad thing? ]

Just keep me up to date?

[sunsetking]

[They both need some breathing room after all of that. Leona isn't the type of person to be...touchy, anyway. He's watching Khalid, though. As if waiting for something. Watching for something.

Then he tilts his head to the side.]

...I'll try.

[he's not the best at it, preferring to keep his problems to himself. But. It. Wouldn't hurt to try to put in a little effort here. Just this once.]

[deepstar]

[ He rubs the back of his neck. Breathes in and seems to start to get some kind of control over himself. Some of his internal emotions - even the ones that he hasn't exactly confronted. There are a lot of things that he needs to ask himself, starting with why he had been so unsettled.

Why he had felt the need to take things things far. Leona had been right to call him out on it and Claude hadn't a proper answer then. So he still needs to work out the full answer. ]

I guess I can accept that. Trying is all we can ever actually do, right?

[sunsetking]

That’s fair enough.

[There are a lot of things to unpack here. Leona can see it in Claude’s reactions, the way he seems uneasy though he can’t be entirely sure as to why. It’s evident that the older man is bothered by this. More than he thought he would.

He exhales softly.]

You’re free to stay the night if you want. I have an extra room.

[Whether he accepts or not is up to him. He wouldn’t be offended if Claude refused. He’d understand.]

[deepstar]

[ He looks up at Leona when the other man says this. An extra room, huh? Normally Khalid would decline. Staying means putting himself in the territory of another. Being at a disadvantage. Then there's also Azita.

However, Khalid is also oddly tired. A bit emotionally drained and that's a new feeling. A feeling he's not really used to. Mental exhaustion and fatigue? Yeah. Exhaustion from trying to maintain his mask in the middle of a war? Of course. But this ain't any of that. ]

Throw in dinner and I'll think about it a little harder.

[sunsetking]

You’re in luck then that I just bought enough groceries to make dinner for two. It’ll be a while to cook if you’re willing to wait.

[An ear twitch.

Leona isn’t usually one to offer a room either. Send someone on their way and move on with his life. The only person who’s ever shared his room is the prefect and even then, it’s not willingly. Damn Ruggie.]

[deepstar]

As long as you provide me with some entertainment. Unfortunately, I'm useless in a kitchen. I'm a dish breaker.

[ Which is to say, yes. He can be patient. But man. He cannot cook. So take care of him, Leona. ]

[sunsetking]

You've got your choice between books or a chessboard.

[He doesn't have much in terms of entertainment.]

...Stay out of my kitchen then.

[Don't go breaking his dishes. He actually has to care about that sort of thing instead of just having a certain hyena go out and buy replacements for him. Ugh.]

[deepstar]

Well I can't play chess by myself so I guess I'll have to dig through your bookshelves.

[ Don't worry. Khalid promises to stay out of that kitchen. Neither one of them actually want him in there. Funny enough, if he felt like applying himself, he probably would do just fine. Cooking and potion making likely aren't all that different, right? ]

[sunsetking]

Enjoy.

[With that, he slips out to start preparing and cooking them dinner.

Huh, that sounds a lot like Leona. The lion had no desire to be in a kitchen until he was forced into a position where he had to put in the effort. But Khalid can enjoy those books. History books, some other books on magic Leona's discovered, and even a couple books on tactics. It's easy to see where his interest lies.]

[deepstar]

[ For now, he will stay in the living area. Pluck out a book. Save for the magic books, the rest of it is actually right up Claude's alley anyway.

Don't mind him as he picks out a history book and a tactics.

Reading two at once? Well... is that really surprising? ]

[sunsetking]

Enjoying yourself?

[Leona walks over to him after a while.

Reaching over, he plucks a book out from Khalid's hand.]

Dinner is done.

[deepstar]

[ Wow? Why are you just straight up yoinking that book? Claude can eat and read at the same time. He's very talented like that. ]

Hey. I was just getting to an interesting part. What if I lose my place?

[sunsetking]

I doubt you will.

[A scoff.]

I ain't bringing the food out to you.

[deepstar]

Wow. What a poor way to treat a guest.

[ With a groan, he pushes himself up and out of the chair. He'll follow Leona into the kitchen. ]

My poor heart.

[sunsetking]

Don't complain when I've willingly cooked for you.

[He grunts as he leads him into the kitchen. There's a distinct smell of...curry?]

You can live with a wounded heart for a night.

[deepstar]

Oh I appreciate it, but it's not like you had to.

[ Because Khalid often forgets to eat anyway! ]

[sunsetking]

Well, you’re here now. So eat.

[A light shove towards the table. There are already two bowls of curry and a plate of bread laid out for them.]

[deepstar]

[ He chuckles as Leona shoves him. Okay, okay! Claude gets it. Promise.

Look! He's even sitting down with a spoon.

Until he looks at it thoughtfully. ]

[sunsetking]

It ain’t poisoned if you’re worried about that.

[Because he wouldn’t be surprised if Khalid was.

Sitting across from him, Leona picks up his own spoon and begins to eat.]

And my cooking ain’t that bad to kill you either.

[deepstar]

Nah, I don't think you'd be the sort to poison someone. You'd just kill me outright.

[ He's using bread to dip and eat the curry. ]

I guess I just have a question.

[sunsetking]

And what question is that?

[A glance over as he reaches to grab a piece of bread for himself.]

[deepstar]

Why were you avoiding me? I didn't think that I did anything to tick you off that last time.

[ Not looking at Leona directly. Just going to keep NOM. ]

[sunsetking]

[Ah. That. He supposes it would’ve been brought up.]

You didn’t. But you made me have to figure a few things out and being around you made it a little complicated at the time.

[Mostly, feelings. Because Leona isn’t good at that in general so having to figure it out? Not fun. It’s helped a bit though.]