TRP: Goro and Larkin (Fluff-Waffle)

[Setting: Day 267, on the ship, late evening]

There was nothing to fucking do on this stupid ship and it was driving Larkin crazy. Sleeping was out of the question for now, knowing what had went down at the Sanctuary, and nothing else would take her mind off the thought that some pissfaced orc motherfucker has captured Azriel.

Well, she didn't want her mind off it. She wanted to give those assholes a piece of it, delivered on a metal point.

Pacing the ship while seething with anger was hungry work, though, so Larkin briefly stopped by the galley to find some food she could gnaw on. She had a hard piece of bread between her teeth when Hansel appeared in the doorway, Luci in tow, and delivered a Goro who looked suspicious as fuck. Hansel grabbed Larkin in a hug that made her half choke on a bread crumb, then disappeared, leaving her coughing and befuddled.

Lina  at 6:46 PM

"You doing alright?" Goro asked, trying his best to look like a normal, healthy person who was able to stand up straight. He moved casually toward the nearest chair.

Jen  at 6:52 PM

"Not really, nah." Larkin glanced between Goro and Luci. "The fuck was that about?"

Lina  at 6:53 PM

"The fuck was what about?" Goro's stomach growled when he smelled Hansel's stew. Ah, he should fuckin' get up and get some, or something.

Jen  at 6:55 PM

"Nothin', just that I just got the living shit squeezed outta me." She put a hand to her ribs.

Lina  at 6:56 PM

"Oh. Yeah, he does that."

Jen  at 7:00 PM

"An you're not gonna tell me why he's been crying?" Larkin paused and stopped chewing the bread to take a closer look at Goro. He didn't only look suspicious as fuck, which was admittedly a natural state for him, but also sick. "What happened?"

Lina  at 7:03 PM

"Eh." Goro shrugged. If he played it off like it wasn't a big deal--which it wasn't--maybe she wouldn't bat an eye. "I died for a second. Luci revived me, though. She was fuckin' on it."

Jen  at 7:09 PM

Larkin snorted. "Uh-huh." Could've guessed he wouldn't be telling- wait. She glanced at Luci who looked decidedly uncomfortable and not about to argue that statement.

Larkin almost dropped the bread out of her mouth. "You what?"

Lina  at 7:11 PM

"I died for a second," he said again.

Jen  at 7:23 PM

Larkin blinked. Slowly, she chewed the chunk of bread in her mouth, swallowed, then walked up to Goro and grabbed his collar with both hands. "If that's a joke it's not fucking funny."

Lina  at 7:25 PM

"Oh, jeez. Take it easy." He tried to pry her fingers off his collar, but that never did any good. "It's not a joke. Um. You remember that wand I got from Diva?"

Jen  at 7:26 PM

"You used the fucking Leech?!"

Lina  at 7:27 PM

"Yup. Mask says hi, by the way."

Jen  at 7:31 PM

What the fuck. What the fuck. Larkin stared at Goro, mouth open, and had no fucking words for this so she didn't say anything. Her grip on his collar tightened, before she let go and pounded a fist against his chest.

"Why? Why the fuck would you do this? What... " Someone else must've died. Someone... "What happened?"

Lina  at 8:50 PM

He yelped and winced when she hit his chest, curling in on himself protectively. "My fuckin' heart stopped, is what happened," he said, scowling. He couldn't tell if her hitting him there had actually made the pain worse, or if it was just in his head, but still. He groaned and waved a hand toward the counter. "Pass me some of that bread, and I'll tell you the whole story."

Jen  at 6:22 AM

"How about you tell me now and I don't break your face?" Larkin slapped both hands into her own and dragged her fingers down her cheeks. After a moment, though, she turned and snatched up the leftover bread to hand it to Goro.

Lina  at 6:52 AM

He grabbed it and took a bite, then talked with his mouth full, a little sullen. "I... I couldn't... couldn't stand watching Raef. Y'know, he asked me for the Leech a few days ago. Before we went to the Sanctuary. I told him to fuck off, in so many words. But, uh. Then Griffin."

Goro sighed weakly, staring at the rest of the bread in his hand. "I don't know. I wanted to help. Couldn't do anything for Griffin, but... Raef had that jawbone. From his first husband."

He's on the ship now. I did it. He waited to get that little chill again, the pleasure of knowing he'd done something so profound. Didn't come, this time. He felt some shaky relief that Raef wasn't alone, but other than that, just... fucking... defeated.

Jen  at 6:55 AM

Larkin's eyes went wide and she put a hand over her mouth. "And you... did it work?"

Lina  at 6:56 AM

Goro nodded. Felt like he should add on, but he figured there wasn't much more he could say.

Jen  at 7:05 AM

"You stupid fucking dumbass motherfucker." She wanted to shout it at him but it came out in a whisper. He'd done it. He'd gone and fucking killed himself and Larkin hadn't even been there. She felt angry and guilty for not doing a better job at taking that cursed wand off Goro, despite knowing he would've never let her get hold of it.

Her head was spinning. She made her way over to where Goro sat and dragged a chair out, then sat down heavily and stared at him, slowly shaking her head. Didn't make any fucking sense.

Only, it did. Kind of. They'd all been hit by Raef's pain over losing Griffin and this... this was just the kind of shit Goro pulled. She should've known. Should've guessed.

"How many times, Goro? How many times you think you can do this before you end up dead for good?"

Lina  at 7:10 AM

Goro dropped the rest of the bread on the table and buried his head in his arms.

"Mask took the wand," he said, muffled. "Can't, again. Told me to quit it."

Jen  at 7:12 AM

"Mask took the..." She repeated slowly, trying out the words because they didn't make any sense. "Mask. Our god. Took it from you."

Lina  at 7:15 AM

"Mhm. I met him, for a second. When I died. And yoink." Goro emerged from his arm-cave to mime picking someone's pocket.

Jen  at 7:17 AM

"Thank... fucking god. I mean. Fucking literally. What the fuck."

Lina  at 7:18 AM

"He says hi," Goro said again.

Jen  at 7:39 AM

Larkin blinked.

Lina  at 7:41 AM

Goro buried his head again.

"Just trying to do the right fucking thing," he mumbled. "Dunno why I bother. Too fucking rotten to get it right."

Jen  at 7:44 AM

Larkin shot a look at Luci still lurking in the doorway but she seemed just as helpless as Larkin felt.

"The fuck, man?" Larkin put a hand to Goro's arm and shook it, bobbing his head from side to side. "You're not... I mean, you are a fucking idiot for using that Leech, but what the hell, you got Raef's husband back from the dead! How'd you not get that right?"

Lina  at 7:50 AM

"I don't know! Everyone's fuckin' losing their shit about it." Goro straightened up just so he could promptly hide a different way, pulling his feet up and hugging his knees to his chest. "You're fucking pissed, and Hansel... Hansel, I don't even know." He rubbed his eyes. "I fucked him up real bad. I couldn't... couldn't fix it. 'S'why he dumped me off with you."

Jen  at 7:54 AM

"Ah, shit. Hey." Larkin scrambled off her chair and over to Goro, then took his face in both hands so he had to look at her. "You know why I'm fucking pissed? 'cause I love you, you piece of shit, and I can't stand the idea of you fucking dying. The hell did you think we were gonna react? You want us to just go, pfff, Goro died, whatever?" She threw her hands up.

Lina  at 7:58 AM

"Yeah," he said glumly. "I mean, I fuckin' came right back."

Jen  at 7:59 AM

"But what if you hadn't!"

Lina  at 8:02 AM

"Well, then I guess none of you'd be worse off than Raef was before I did my thing!"

Definitely, definitely not worse. Raef had lost fucking everyone. No one had any fucking business fussing over Goro.

Jen  at 11:27 AM

"And you think Raef would've been cool with killing you to get his husband back? Come on, Goro." Larkin scowled. "Hed have been a fucking wreck. And this isn't about Raef anyway, is it? It's about you and your..." She flapped a hand at him. "Thing you have, with thinking you have to fucking sacrifice yourself."

Lina  at 12:09 PM

"It's fucking not!" His eyes were burning again, but he was beyond giving a shit. "See? Nothing I fucking do turns out right. Try and save someone's fucking life, bring someone back from the fucking dead and everyone just thinks I'm trying to kill myself. I can't fucking win, Larkin. I don't know what the hell anyone wants from me."

Jen  at 2:56 PM

"What the..." Larkin went to grab Goro by the collar again and brought her face close to his, as if that would help to drive the point home. "We want you to be alive, fuckwit. We want you to be fucking alive and healthy and not gambling with your own death and shit."

Lina  at 5:18 PM

"That's what we do, Lark! That's what all of us do! I don't see the rest of you fuckin' sitting at home all safe and cozy by the fire day in and day out. You're running a goddamn criminal empire. Hansel's a fucking mercenary. Raef's an assassin. Fuck all of you fuckers if you think I'm the only one not allowed to face occupational hazards." He wrenched his collar out of her hands so he could bury his head in his arms again.

Jen  at 9:16 AM

"It's..." not the same, she wanted to say, because it fucking wasn't. They all did their fucking best not to die at least and Goro just went and put it up to sheer luck. Larkin knew better than to keep arguing, though. Nothing would get through to him.

She went back to her chair and sat across from Goro, leaning forward on the table. "So how bad is it with Hansel?"

Lina  at 11:20 AM

Goro let out a miserable whine. "Iuno. I don't... I don't get him." He sniffed and lifted his head. "I mean... I just... I don't fuckin' know. I believe him when he says he loves me, but god, I feel like I'm some fuckin' wild animal he doesn't know how to handle. I freak him out all the time and he won't talk, and then he argues with me when I try to talk to him, and I can't fix any of the shit I start, and..." He moaned again, spinning the ring on his finger.

Felt a little weird to be saying all this shit with Luci in the room, but hell, she probably didn't care. Probably was good for not spreading what she heard, too.

Izzy  at 5:23 PM

Luci had tucked herself into a corner and was staring pointedly at the wall. She didn't particularly want to be alone right now, but she didn't know where Hansel had actually gotten to -- or Mishka -- and had hoped to just hide out nearby without bothering Goro and Larkin.

Once they started talking about Hansel, though, she sunk down in her chair. This wasn't going to help. She slunk out quietly, hoping they wouldn't notice.

Jen  at 2:36 AM

Larkin didn't know what the fuck to say to that other than stupid, empty platitudes like I'm sure it's fine. She reached over the table to squeeze Goro's arm and looked to Luci again but she was on her way to a less awkward place. Good desicion on her part.

Lina  at 6:54 AM

He grimaced at Luci leaving. Maybe not so much on the "didn't care" part, then. He'd have to hunt her down later and... well, shit, he still hadn't thanked her for saving his life. Son of a bitch.

He grimaced at Larkin, too, since she obviously didn't know what to say. "Y'know what the solution here is, right?"

Jen  at 6:56 AM

"What?" Larkin said, dead certain she wouldn't agree.

Lina  at 6:58 AM

"I gotta find a spell that'll erase me from existence, and also wipe everyone's memory clean of me. That way, no more trouble from me, and none of you'll be sad."

Jen  at 6:58 AM

She smacked him over the head.

Lina  at 6:59 AM

"Ow, what the--what the fuck." He glared and rubbed his head. "Fuck you."

Jen  at 7:00 AM

"No, fuck you"." Larkin stabbed a finger at his forehead. "Stop feeling fucking sorry for yourself and start acting like you actually care about us!"

Lina  at 7:05 AM

"I do. That'd be my fucking gift to you, not having to put up with my shit anymore."

Jen  at 7:09 AM

"You know what'd be a fucking gift? You pulling your head outta your ass and starting to listen what we have to say to you." Larkin scowled, shaking her head.

"Hansel and me are fucking old enough to decide for ourselves what kinda shit we wanna put up with. Asshole."

Lina  at 7:15 AM

He rested his head on the table again. Sure. Yeah. Only a matter of fucking time, though. Only a matter of time before they decided he wasn't worth the trouble, and the waiting was gonna kill him, because the longer this went on, the more it was gonna hurt when it all came crashing down.

He squeezed his eyes shut. "'Kay."

Jen  at 7:17 AM

"Hey. Hey." Larkin shook him again. "Don't just fucking 'kay me. I know you don't mean it. What do I gotta do to make you fucking believe me?"

Lina  at 7:22 AM

"I do believe you. I don't think you're lying, just..." He sniffed and let a few tears leak out of his eyes. "I don't know how long it's gonna be 'til you give up."

Jen  at 7:28 AM

Oh. Well, shit. Larkin took her hands off Goro and used them to pad her chin as she leaned foward even more, half lying on the table now. "Give up?" She said, and then reached out again anyway because Goro looked too god damn miserable. "Come on, buddy, how can you think that. Like, what the fuck you think you can do to drive us away? We're resilient motherfuckers."

Lina  at 7:34 AM

He shrugged. Admittedly, if there was one thing he knew about Larkin, it was that she was staunchly loyal to her family even when they were shitters. Still, that didn't mean she always liked them, did it? Wasn't like she and Renar were close.

"Dunno," he mumbled.

Jen  at 7:38 AM

"Yeah, you don't fucking know. 'cause it's gonna be damn hard even if you tried."

Lina  at 7:39 AM

"Mmm." He hid his face, but reached out to squeeze her hand. "Love you, Lark."

Jen  at 7:41 AM

She squeezed back, then stood up without letting go and rounded the table to wrap her arms around Goro. "Love you too, man."

Lina  at 8:00 PM

He kept hanging onto her, just letting her hold him. Kept his mouth shut for as long as he could stand it.

Head still buried, he asked, "Would you ever punch Renar for me?"

Jen  at 8:02 PM

"I swear to god, Goro, if you make me do that I'll fucking punch you too."

Lina  at 8:03 PM

"Fair 'nough. Listen, I'm just saying, if it was me versus him in a pit--"

Jen  at 8:04 PM

"What the fuck-"

Lina  at 8:06 PM

"Who would you throw in for? C'mon." He turned his head to look at her, half grinning. "Unc, or cousin?"

Jen  at 8:07 PM

"Unc." She released Goro and jabbed a finger into his side. "He's like, twice your size."

Lina  at 8:08 PM

He jumped when she jabbed him. "That's why you gotta hit him for me!"

Jen  at 8:09 PM

"Okay, okay. If you, somehow, got dragged into a pit fight with Renar I'd punch him for you. But if it's your own stupid fault I will bet against you."

Lina  at 8:12 PM

"Pfff. Show you. I'll open up festering wounds all over him. Hey, he's not a fucking magic user, right? You gotta tell me all the Basha family secrets now."

Jen  at 8:19 PM

Larkin returned to her chair, chuckling. Also, really fucking glad they were back to bantering. As long as Goro wasn't just doing it to appease her...

"So you're admitting you're a Basha

now?"

Lina  at 8:21 PM

He grimaced and made a wishy-washy gesture with his hand. "Only so long as it'll get me something."

Jen  at 8:22 PM

"Oh no. It's an all or nothing deal."

Lina  at 8:25 PM

He blew his tongue between his lips. "Gross. I'm out." He thought for a second, and his face darkened. "Hey. Real fucking talk, for a second. I know not to get between you and your uncle. What about your fucking aunt, huh?"

Jen  at 8:28 PM

Larkin grimaced. "I mean... she fucked your over big time, so. And it's not like she cares about the family. Didn't even know she was on this side of the continent."

Lina  at 8:37 PM

"I don't think I want to kill her." He'd imagined it, for sure. Pointing his finger in her face and calling down some divine fucking justice on her head. Smacking her and making her skin fester. Just fucking going to town on her with his knife. But... he always hesitated. When he pictured looking into her eyes, he hesitated long enough for the image to crumble away. "But if someone else wants to try, I'm not gonna stop 'em. That, and all bets are off if she lays a hand on Theo again."

Jen  at 3:15 AM

Larkin gave an unhappy, noncommittal grunt. She didn't like it but it was kinda fair... from Goro's perspective. She'd just make sure not to be there when it happened.

Lina at 7:46 AM

Goro thought for a minute, and then he squinted a little. "Your dad's my uncle."

Fuckin'... obviously. He'd been aware of it on some level, yeah, but he wasn't sure it'd actually sunk in.

Jen at 7:48 AM

"Shit. I suppose he is. Oh fuck." Larkin sat up straight. "I forgot to tell him about that whole thing."

Lina at 7:51 AM

"Pfff. What, about his sister being a fucking kid-ditching psycho?"

Runs in the family, he thought, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna say that. At least Kheman had come back to visit now and then, anyway.

Jen at 7:53 AM

"About him having nieces and nephews, but I might just not mention one of 'em."

Lina at 7:54 AM

Goro frowned. "Which? You taking a dig at me? No fair, I'm fucking tired."

Jen at 7:55 AM

"Why would I mean you? Since you're the nicest of the bunch. A real fluff-waffle."

Lina at 7:56 AM

"The fuck's a fluff-waffle?"

Jen at 7:56 AM

Larkin grinned and rested her chin in her palms. "You."

Lina at 7:58 AM

"Fuckin'..." He shook his head and rubbed his face. "Hey, weren't Hansel and your dad real fucking tight? That's fucking weird. 'Hey, I'd like you to meet my fiance, your nephew.' The hell."

Jen at 8:01 AM

Larkin squinted, thinking this over. "That'd make Hansel Pa's... nephew in law? That means Hansel is going to be my cousin in law?"

Lina at 8:12 AM

"Yeah huh." Goro snorted. "Fucking touching, right? Finally, you two can make it official."

Jen at 9:07 AM

"Oh, fuck off."

Lina at 9:14 AM

He grinned at her cheekily until his face was too tired to keep it up anymore. He slumped back onto the table. "Fluff-waffle," he said again, shaking his head. "What, you don't wanna tell him about Bakir? Freak him out with pirate shit?"

Jen at 9:16 AM

"I'll tell him alright. Hey, maybe he even knows something."

Lina at 9:16 AM

That thought gave him a little more energy. "You think so?"

Jen at 9:18 AM

Larkin shrugged. "He's been around a lot of ports. Maybe I could even..." She looked down at the table, scratching at it with a nail. "I mean. Uncle's in Calimport now. Would bet my ass he's in with one pirate crew or another."

Lina at 9:25 AM

"Eh. That would involve... making Renar aware of Bakir's existence." Goro grimaced. "Er. Wait. Maybe he was already aware. Would he have gone for Jas's kids by now, you think? Or take a rare live-and-let-live approach?"

Jen at 9:29 AM

"Fuck, no." Larkin pried a splinter of the table and flipped it across the room, frowning. "He'd let her have her kids but if he knew Bakir was out there... "

It'd be best and easiest to just tell Renar. He'd find the contacts and resources to get Bakir back. But Larkin knew Goro wouldn't fucking like that idea.

Lina at 9:41 AM

Goro mulled it over a bit. Renar was probably better equipped than anyone else to find Bakir. But then... finder's keepers, as they say. That made him feel shaky inside, almost as bad as the idea of Jasmilia tracking any of them down again.

"I'll have to think about it," he muttered. He wasn't even sure Larkin would wait for him to decide; she'd probably feel obligated to tell Renar next time she spoke to him. "Listen, I've talked to him a lot through Sending, and... he's not like us, Lark. Fuckin' Theo's tougher shit than him. He seems really... just... bookish, and sweet, and..." Goro curled up, pulling his feet up on the chair. "He's not a good Basha. He shouldn't have to be."

Jen at 9:46 AM

Larkin grimaced. She wanted to tell Goro it was fine and that Bakier could do what he wanted once they had him, but... he'd owe Renar. And Renar would make good use of him if Bakir was tough or not. Set him to running numbers and inventory or something like that.

"Who's a good Basha anyway?" She said instead, smiling a bit.

Lina at 9:48 AM

"Well." He sneered. "I can't deny I inherited a few fuckin' traits."

Jen at 9:48 AM

Larkin snorted. "You're a terrible Basha."

Lina at 9:49 AM

"Music to my ears. Tell me more."

Jen at 10:04 AM

"Yeah, you can go fuck yourself, did I tell you that already?"

Lina at 10:12 AM

Goro scoffed. He dragged himself heavily to his feet and pushed away from the table. "Gonna go find my boyfriend. Fiance. Need a hug from someone less fucking pointy than you." He stuck his tongue out at her.

Jen at 10:15 AM

"What about me, though?" Larkin made a mock-pout. "Maybe I need hugs, too?"

Lina at 10:15 AM

Goro beckoned her to follow. "Fuckin' come with. Group hug, 'n shit."

Jen at 10:20 AM

She scoffed and didn't get up. Glanced at Goro in the door, though, because admittedly, she had hoped he'd come back and hug her. Mask knew what was going on with Azriel in the Sanctuary. Larkin could use a bit of reassurance... ah, fuck.

She scraped back her chair. "I'm coming for some fresh air."

Lina at 10:24 AM

Goro stayed where he was, working his mouth around to hide a smile. Fuckin' Larkin. He hung onto the doorframe for support and waited for her to join him, then launched himself at her when she was within grabbing range. He put all his weight into the hug, mostly because he didn't have the strength to do anything else, and made the both of them stagger.

Jen at 10:27 AM

Larki just got her hands up in time to avoid Goro cracking his skull against her nose, but that was about it. They both stumbled and fell, the floor catching them as gently as a brick to the face.

Lina at 10:28 AM

"You failed me," he groaned, still hugging her. "So much for looking out for family."

Jen at 10:32 AM

Larkin tried to wiggle free but Goro wouldn't budge. She gave up and sighed. "That was the worst take-down I've ever seen."

Lina at 10:35 AM

"Uh-huh. That's your wounded pride I'm hearing." He let go of her and rolled onto his back, holding both his arms up in the air. "Now pick me up and carry me. I died today. I'm weak."

Jen at 5:12 PM

Larkin shuffled to her feet, then placed a boot on Goro's chest. "Then lay the fuck down and rest."

Lina at 5:13 PM

"Don't have much choice here, do I?" He let his arms flop to the floor.

Jen at 5:16 PM

"Nah." She took her foot off him and offered him a hand. "Alright, come on. You gotta go get real hugs."

Lina at 5:19 PM

[end]

Title: Fluff-Waffle. Summary: Larkin chews Goro out for using the Leech. Goro sulks. They hug it out.