We're Friends [Isamu, Vanyel, Violet]

He was glad that he had picked out a place that was within walking distance of a general store. Made midnight runs, as well as last-minute recipes, far easier to accommodate for. At first, he wasn't the most keen of leaving Violet alone at the house, but, with her recovery progressing steadily, he felt a bit more at ease, especially since she didn't require the aid of a caretaker anymore.

So, he was walking back home, a bag of groceries hung around one arm, earphones in with Chinese rock playing, sunglasses covering his eyes, and a casual attire of black short-sleeved shirt, dark-blue jacket, and jeans. Violet assured him that she'd clean up around the house -- something he already was fine with doing by himself, but, resigned after her insistence.

He reached the door, getting into his pocket to get his keys, and went to unlock the door -- only for him to find it already unlocked. That...was concerning. An eyebrow raised as he stowed his keys back in his pocket, instead feeling for a switchblade as he turned the doorknob.

"Vi, I'm ba-"

The switchblade in his hand clattered to the ground as he turned his head, seeing the scene in front of him. Violet, on the floor, with a certain someone on top of her. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Vanyel had to exercise every possible form of restraint possible as he took a few steps forward, very clearly annoyed.

"It's been god knows how many years, and you still haven't changed. You're still trying to get into the pants of everything that moves, you nympho fuck."

When Violet fell, she hit the ground in a thud, feeling a large hand grabbing hold of her. Her fall wasn't stopped though, and she hit the ground only to have the heaviness of the stranger fall on top of her. Violet tensed, frozen in under the sheer intensity of his weight. And then she noticed she was wet. Her own soda spilled over the floor, creating a puddle beneath the two of them. She tried turning over, but stopped when she realized exactly how close his face was. His compliments and flirtatious words would have bene flattering a moment ago, but at this moment, they made her heart race. 'He'sVanyel'sFriend.Don'tpanic.Vanyel'sFriend.Friend.'

"Th-Thank y-..." The door opened and her head turned to see Vanyel standing there. Her eyes glanced down to the dropped knife and then back up to him. She stared at Vanyel, a look of desperation in her eyes as she tried not to panic.

"Well..."

Isamu was at a loss of words hearing his voice. A voice that hadn't graced his ears for a long time. Of course, this was the last circumstance he wished to meet him under. And yet, here he was.

There wasn't much he could say to deny his words. Vanyel was well aware of his past and his promiscuity, so there wasn't exactly a lot he could deny here. With her likely catching wind of that, he probably recognized that his chances were probably shot in the ground with the girl he was currently positioned atop.

Shame, and she was a real looker, too. Better to remove himself from her body before this escalated into something where they came to blows. He still pulled her up from the ground as he intended, and inched away, flashing a sheepish grin in his direction, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'd say that wasn't my intention here in the slightest, but ya probably wouldn't believe me, so why bother. Sorry about that, Violet. In any case, it's been awhile, Vanyel. After bein' away from ya for so long, and losin' yer number at that, I thought you might've kicked the bucket. At the very least, I'm glad to see you're still alive and kickin'."

Yeah, he didn't fully believe that shit. He'd known him for years, and he was sure that even Isamu wouldn't have believed himself, if their positions were swapped. Ugh, he shuddered at the thought of that. Sighing, Vanyel picked up the fallen weapon, tucking back in his pocket, before shutting the door and locking it. His expression of annoyance vanished as he walked over to them, checking on Violet, making sure she was okay.

"Frankly, that wasn't all that unlikely. Nearly did, more than I'd care to admit."

He looked at where their...predicament had landed them, and noticed the mess. He walked over to the kitchen, pulling out a small amount of paper towels, dampening some of them, before he got down and went to wipe up the mess, then dry off the area. Getting back to his feet, he rubbed his temples, sighing.

"Locked the door before I left, so seein' it unlocked made me worried that someone had broken in and Vi was in danger. Though, arguably, you're more of a threat."

Especially with what he knew of Vi, her view of herself, and the small things she'd let slip that he'd been able to deduce relatively reasonable theories of, someone like Isamu really was more of a threat for Violet. But, that wasn't for him to talk about, especially not since they hadn't seen each other in so long. He reached over to Vi, ruffling her hair lightly as he smiled.

"Isamu, Violet. She's my friend and roommate, and my martial arts student. Violet, Isamu. Old friend of mine. Though, given the situation I walked in on, you seem to already be acquainted."

Given her experience with the criminal underworld, he wouldn't dare mention that part of their shared past he wasn't very proud of. But, then again, there were a lot of things about himself that he wasn't proud of.

"Heh... same here. Life got rough after we abruptly went our separate ways."

Isamu wasn't particularly inclined to reveal his line of work. This was neither the time nor place for that, and if anything, that would lead to an entirely different conversation he wasn't in the mood to explore. Though it was far from ideal, he didn't want anything to stain this reunion with a dear friend. He playfully stuck his tongue out as he shrugged his shoulders at his comment about being a threat. Vanyel was wholly familiar with his self-destructive past, so he couldn't really deny a single word here. Glancing back at Violet, he chuckled softly as he flashed a warm smile before turning back to Vanyel.

"I half-assumed she was yer girlfriend since I don't always hear about men and women sharin' houses, but thanks for the clarification. As for what you walked in on... we introduced ourselves, she tripped, I tried to help her up, and well... you saw the scene a few minutes before. Even then, I'm not so much of a sleaze I'd go sleepin' with any woman in an old friend's home. I'm genuinely glad to see you again, Van."

"You don't know the half of it..."

Vanyel's voice lowered to a mumble, not exactly intending for Isamu to hear it as he thought back to how chaotic his life had been a few years prior. Then again, his life hadn't exactly been uneventful as of recent, either. Right now, at least, he was glad to have a somewhat quiet period.

"That's a story in it of itself. In any case, good, because if you did, I'd either have to deep clean the entire place or burn it down. Regardless, it's good to see you too."

Vanyel did not like the idea of one of his closest friends sleeping with someone in his house, and, at worst, in his bed. It wasn't meant as an offense to him, but, really, who would enjoy that kind of idea? Sighing softly, Vanyel looked at the groceries left on the kitchen counter, before looking back to Isamu and Violet.

"You okay, Vi? Should probably go get changed...I can start on lunch while that's happenin'. Is it alright if Isamu sticks around for lunch? You can get to know both of us more, if you want."

Violet’s attention went back and forth between the two of them in those few moments. She was confused, but kept that emotion hidden as she went to stand up. Suddenly, she was swooped up from the ground like she weighed little more than a stuffed animal, causing her to squeak in surprise, and then placed back on her feet. From there, Violet was silent, taking in what little she could process here. She could not tell whether Vanyel liked this guy or not. ‘Nympho-fuck’ was a name that made Violet very uncomfortable. Then there was information about Vanyel almost dying? And this guy was apparently more of a threat than someone robbing the place?! But… also his friend?! And then those girlfriend comments were…

Too. Much. Information.

With a mildly disgusted expression, Violet wrapped her arms around herself, feeling extremely unclean when Vanyel mentioned needing to deep clean or burn the place down… Who was this guy!? The sticky soda didn’t help, but what the hell?!

“Okay.” Without looking at either man, Violet backed away and headed back to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and did as she was told…

Isamu listened to Vanyel while he continued to observe Violet for a few moments, his mind less focused on her appearance, and more geared toward her specific expression. There were was a firm note of disgust at hearing Vanyel reveal so much, and he genuinely wondered if that was borne out of embarassment or something else he couldn't quite grasp.

Flashing back to the light bruise on her face, he wondered if there was an awkwardness the two shared or if there was something deeper at work here. Furthermore, adding fuel to the fire, with her departure, his gaze shifted back to Vanyel - whose expression was growing abundantly clear with anxiety, visible in a way only Isamu recognized.

After all, Isamu was no stranger to that expression. It was what he always regarded him with when he lost himself to his vices, to his growing hedonism that had yet to leave him even now. He was rarely the type to assume, but had anything happened to her? A bad experience? Was she homeless? Did he take her in? There were a myriad of questions as he stared at Vanyel, and he intended on sating that curiosity by any means neccessary.

"Judgin' by that reaction, I'm not so sure. Heh, way to make an impression on her, huh, Van? Ya could've at least made me look cool. Now she probably thinks I'm the worst sleazebag since Hugh Hefner. Then again, that guy had class... " He humored, his baritone voice ringing with a small tinge of self-depreciative humor.

"...Anyway, you look uneasy right now. I'm gonna be serious here for a moment, since I saw that bruise on her face... did anything happen to her? Bad experience? Not comfortable with social settings? I won't force ya to answer, but I'd feel terrible if I... came on too strong with a well-meanin' gal who isn't accustomed to my brand of flirting. And I don't like her feelin' regretful she let... some sort of bastard in on yer watch. I know I'm far from a saint here, but you know me. I have standards and rules about that sorta stuff."

Vanyel believed he knew Violet decently well at this point. At the very least, he knew when something wasn't right, and that quiet 'okay' immediately made his heart swell with dread. His eyes widened, and though his mouth opened to say something, Vanyel couldn't find the words, only watching as Violet went down the hall to the bathroom, hearing the lock firmly click behind her.

What had he said that made her upset? Was it the nickname? Was it the idea that Isamu was potentially more of a threat than a burglar? His own head started to spiral down the possibilities of what he'd said, what Violet might end up doing, how he might have hurt her and started a rift in their friendship. But, then, he heard Isamu speak up, and it immediately pulled him back to reality.

He noticed he wasn't breathing right -- so, he took a deep breath, trying to calm and ground himself, his hands raising to his head as he closed his eyes for a moment, still listening to what Isamu was saying.

"I..."

He trusted Isamu, more than he did most people -- but, still, part of him didn't feel it was right for him to say anything about what he knew and had experienced with Violet. But, Isamu also would understand some of what she was going through, and maybe he could help. Maybe, if nothing else, it could bring him closer to getting to the root of the problem, like what Amelia had suggested.

So, he gestured to the dining area, and went to sit down, his leg bouncing and his hands fidgeting on the table.

"Far as the bruise goes, all I know is that she picked someone's pocket in the City of Lights and...got beat really bad as a result, then somehow endin' up in Japan."

His fingers interlocked, gripping so tightly that his knuckles started to turn white. He remembered how angry and worried he was when he had touched down in Japan, having to search around basically blind while in a rental car. There was no way he would have tried to get her back to the City of Lights in her condition then. He was just grateful that his house had been in Japan.

"She..."

He started to speak, before his head lowered, reflexively bringing a hand to his mouth as he tried to think carefully about what to say, his voice going to a whisper.

"...Before anything else, promise me that what I'm about to tell you won't ever leave this room. Swear on your mom."

‘I messed up again…

Violet turned on the shower and let the water heat up while she removed the soda-soaked pajamas. She dropped them in the sink, not on the floor and went to test the water temperature. It always took a minute to get to the temperature she liked.

‘He said he was Vanyel’s friend… It was a mistake. I even asked him to confirm it was Van that he knew… I should never have let him in. He looked so mad.’

Violet wrapped her arms around herself again, holding tightly. ‘Just breathe.’ she told herself before the first tear fell. ‘Not again… God. Damn. It. Stop.' Violet stepped into the shower even though it was still a little cold. ‘I can feel them again…’