Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve[Boria]

It had been a little too long since the last time Yaksha had spoken with his lieutenant, and he was actually feeling a little fond of her presence for once. Their last few interactions had been relatively straightforward: She'd tell him of some hollow somewhere who was making claims that for a Vasto Lorde he was too soft, and he'd have to go with her to discipline them. Then they'd both walk off for a bit, being seen around town. At this point, everyone knew that Yaksha and Boria were comrades-in-arms, that trying to besmirch the name of either would drag the other into the conflicts in short order. They worked in tandem, and coordinated their efforts well.

Had people seen the interior of Yaksha's penthouse suite at a moment like this, they probably would've started any number of more entertaining and salacious rumors about their relationship, and Yaksha probably would've just given a quiet chuckle in response. Not least of all because he knew how much it would get under Boria's skin to be party to that sort of insinuation, and certainly in no small part because he actually missed when he was first trying to convince Boria to stay and help him make Las Vegas into a successful commune. He'd decided today would be their first real talk in a while, and he'd set up the stage to reflect the significance of such an event to him.

A bottle of wine was chilling on ice a few feet from the sofa, where the television had been upgraded to the newest model; it had no less than seven letters in the acronym if Yaksha remembered correctly, and had cost more than many people's mortgages to buy, but he did enjoy the experience of having his bones literally rattle when the explosions came up on the screen. He had spent no less than three hours preparing a roast and the most lavish of mashed potatoes to go alongside it, and two glasses had been set next to them, each holding a small mouthful of the wine, which was even now finishing its chilling. He'd replaced all the electrical lighting for candles, throwing off odd shadows and making the entire room look almost like some sort of medieval torture chamber. He'd made sure to dust off his best three-piece suit for the occasion, and was even humming under his breath as he finished setting up the plating.

"After a day of being talked down to by Ulv of all people? I think I could use a bit of intelligent conversation."

"Come and have a talk with me," Yaksha had said. No details, no subject, nothing, just... come over. Sure, Boria had nothing else to do today, her entire docket clear after bodily hurling a couple unruly Hollows around for their cheek. Because, you know, an Adjuchas is clearly the kind of entity a Hollow who hasn't even reached the Menos stage can insult without fear. That's totally how that works.

The little brat wasn't even appetizing. She'd left him staked out in the desert. The heat wouldn't kill him, but he'd be rather uncomfortable until the shards of glass holding him there dissolved.

As Boria rode the elevator up to Yaksha's penthouse, she mused on all the little things that had changed for her over the past few months. Behavioral shifts, mainly. Yaksha wasn't a soft boss, but he wasn't absuive; working under him was a unique experience, and she found herself rather enjoying it. The way the two of them clicked together, how they seemed to be on the same wavelength much of the time. Sure, there were frustrating parts; the fact that he was so far above her in power grated on her pride constantly, despite how good he was about not rubbing it in, about giving her chances to improve herself. It was a long road, and not an easy one, but having support on it was nice.

The elevator dinged open, letting Boria out into the lobby of the penthouse, where she knocked on the door with her flesh and blood hand. "Yaksha, it's me!" She called, turning the handle and letting herself in. She took in the room; candle light, Yaksha dressed in a three-piece suit, fine food and wine on the table, and seemed... confused. "... I feel like I've forgotten something. Have I forgotten something?"

"Boria! I'm insulted. I went to all this trouble, and I even made sure to mention it to a few of the regulars around town. Did none of them mention? Honestly, why do I trust these things to others? ...Honestly, why didn't I just say it in the first place? Damn me and my dramatic soul."

Yaksha swept a hand around the room, circling away from her gaze to sink directly through one of the walls, his own voice still coming through clearly as he spoke. It was full of more emotion and deep delight than he'd shown in quite some time, as the candles themselves sputtered and flickered, causing each of the candlelights to lift off of them slowly, and begin circling the room in an effect not unlike a disco ball.

"This marks just one year since we first began working together, Boria. It's hard to imagine the time going that quickly, but all the same here we are. 365 days since you first shook my hand, give or take a week. Even I'm not infallible after all. I thought it was time for us to sit down and really discuss the future. I'd like to believe I've made good on at least most of my claims. Vegas has remained no more or less degenerate than it was before we arrived, the people have acclimated to my guests with remarkable talent, and most shockingly of all no one else has even made a token effort to stop us from setting down roots here. It's going smoothly, and that means that it just might be time to wish for a little more, wouldn't you think?"

He slipped in from behind her, touching one hand gently to her unmangled shoulder, and gesturing to the meal.

"You don't have to eat if you don't want. I recall you're far less a gourmand than I am. But all the same...a proper talk requires a proper meal. At the very least, you can enjoy a vicarious meal while we discuss a long and productive alliance."

Boria didn't flinch at Yaksha's touch as she might have this time last year. Instead, she looked back at him, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth as she took a seat at the table. "An anniversary? Really? I've been around since World War 2, and you predate the current calendar," she says, rolling her eyes. "What is one year to us? We're immortal." She smirked and picked up the glass, holding it out to her partner for a toast. "Come on, you hopeless romantic," she says, waiting for Yaksha to toast with her. "Prost!" She exclaims, gently sipping on the wine.

After she sets her glass down, she nods to the food. "It's a special occasion, I suppose I could eat with you for once," she clarifies. "But really, what's this about? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have called me here just for a meal, no matter what day it is."

Yaksha's gaze met Boria's, unflinching as he watched her giving off an almost-palpable aura of scorn and sarcasm. He met her smirk with one of his own, taking her jab in good stride as he opened the bottle of wine, pouring a generous measure for himself and then downing it in a gulp that made his throat distend more than any person's should've. This done, he let out a satisfied sigh, and folded both hands over the table, meeting her gaze. His smile turned wistful, distant.

"Yes, Boria. We are in fact immortal. And we're both quite old. Yet, in all that time, how long did it take to find someone we could each call a peer, an equal? Surrounded by kings and buffoons, would-be lords and incompetents who can't even admit to their failings. It took us this long to find someone that we really could mesh with. When you take into account the time it took for us to meet, shouldn't we be celebrating the end of a very lonely and bleak time? We're immortals, so shouldn't it be only fitting we find relationships that can survive as long as we did?"

He reached down with one slender hand, snatching up a piece of steak and popping it into his mouth, chewing with a gusto and force that seemed near-orgasmic for a few moments. He let it go on for nearly ten seconds before swallowing, and then placed a strip of the same just in front of Boria, eyes glinting with warmth. He then poured another glass of wine, balancing it on his palm. He examined it, watching the faintest ripples as his hand, completely unmoving in his concentration, waited patiently for a few more moments, before sighing softly.

"A year is such a short span of time, to us. So short, it's easy to forget how rife with opportunity each one is. It's been one year since we met, but look at how much has changed in that short span of time, Boria. I daresay we have a lot to toast to, a lot of potential yet untapped. This year was a glorious one, and I hope with all my being that the next year will be all the better. I made a promise to you, when we first met, that I would catapult you to greatness, that I would give you things such as no other could compete with. I told you that if you stood by my side, that I would give you everything you asked for. I wanted to tell you that I still feel that way, Boria. If we weren't walking souls, I'd probably go so far as to say we were soulmates. For me, this year has been one of the best I've had in the centuries I've lived up until now."

Finally, he flicked his gaze towards Boria, mischief and delight clear in his smile as he downed yet another glass of wine, setting it on the table, and then raising his brows, baring his teeth in a far more pleasant smirk.

"Then again...even so. Perhaps 'soulmate' is not that far off the mark."