TRP: Goro and Hansel (Handsome)

**Lina:**

[SETTING: The Calish Sea, aboard the ship commandeered by
Mishka and Hansel. Set on the night of Day 111.]

Hot. That was Goro's prevailing impression so far of sharing
a bed with other people. Like being nestled up against two furnaces. When he
was on the end at least he could kick his feet free of the blankets and get
some cool air on his legs, but when they put him in the middle? Fuck. That was
some fever-dream inducing shit, right there.

Not literally. Goro rarely remembered his dreams, if he had
any. (Part of why Diva's bullshit had messed with him so bad, he guessed.) No,
his problem was always just waking up with an undefined sense of fear and
unease, startled he'd fallen asleep at all, and wondering if someone was trying
to kill him. Being in bed alone usually made that a quick "no," but
having two other bodies next to him was a new problem to grapple with, no
matter how much he liked those bodies.

When he'd tried to sneak off to sleep alone that first
night, Hansel had dragged him back. Goro was working on it. The cuddling was
really damn nice, when he was awake. He wanted to learn to make this work.

But on this night, when he woke up in the darkness, one of
his furnaces was missing. The bed was actually a pretty tolerable temperature
with just Mishka. Goro sat up and looked around, but saw no sign of Hansel.

He made himself lie back down and wait a while, figuring the
guy was off taking a leak. But after a good chunk of time had passed and Hansel
still hadn't returned, Goro climbed out of bed, pulled on his robe and shoes,
and went out to look for him.

Didn't take long to find him. Hansel was sitting against the
mast, a large bottle in hand making periodic trips to his mouth. He was sitting
at such an angle that he wouldn't see Goro approaching, and Goro didn't want to
startle him. Goro cleared his throat and shuffled and thumped his feet on the
deck as he walked toward the mast. Practically doing a little jig.

**Izzy:**

 Hansel had managed to not wake the other two up when he'd
jolted into consciousness. Goddamn ocean. He felt it in his sleep, swaying, and
no matter how gentle it was it brought him back to the storm. Mishka being
there had helped -- he'd wake up feeling half delirious, but then he'd feel
Mishka on top of him in the bunk, weighing him down delicately, and he'd
breathe and calm down.

But it was getting fucking worse. Only a couple days before
they reached Calimport, and now that they'd taken over the captain's quarters
-- the three of them -- that had cut the edge off, a bit. He could tell himself
he didn't want to wake Goro, either, especially since when the shady little
fucker had tried to slink off, Hansel hadn't let him. Bit hypocritical. He'd
like to see Goro try to drag him back to bed, though -- probably be pretty
funny.

He'd spent a lot of the first portion of the journey slipping
away to hide in the hold, where the ocean's movements weren't as dramatic, and
it was dark and quiet and he could pretend he was somewhere else for a while.
But this time -- when the eye in his nightmares woke him up -- he carefully
extracted himself from the others and crept off to the galley to find a bottle,
and stayed up on the deck for the fresh air. Mishka couldn't take it away from
him if he was fuckin' asleep.

It'd be a while, maybe, but he'd calm down and then he'd
crawl back in bed with them, and they'd never know he'd left. Or he'd wait for
the sun to rise, make sure the sky was clear, and he'd just tell them he'd gotten
up early. They wouldn't buy it, but they wouldn't push it, either. Yeah. This
was a plan. This was a good plan.

He jerked at the noise coming from out of his field of view,
and the hand unoccupied by the bottle dropped to one of his axes. Fucking Goro,
creeping up on him and shit. The fuck was he doing.

"The fuck are you doing." Go back to bed? Goro'd
throw that one back at him. Plus then he might think Hansel was trying to run
him off, in general. He waved him over vaguely, instead.

**Lina:**

Goro ignored the question and chose a spot a few feet away
from Hansel to sit, cross-legged. He gazed out over the moonlit sea, taking a
deep breath of the salty air. It was crisp but not cold out, here. Like the
warmest of summer nights back in Skyport.

"Nice out," he said. He eyed Hansel's bottle
meaningfully. "Is that enhancing the experience for you?"

**Izzy:**

 Hansel grunted noncommittally, but it was more to the idea
of it being nice out. Sure. He guessed. "Always does."

He offered Goro the bottle.

**Lina:**

"Oh, no. Thank you, but I prefer to enjoy things
stone-cold sober, or not at all." He thought about that a little more.
"I guess it's usually the latter. Still. That stuff makes me feel
sick." Which was... partly true, if not the main reason he didn't like to
drink.

He had a nasty gut feeling at the moment, watching Hansel.
When he used to work as a medic, sometimes you'd have people come in who were
so visibly sick, it was tough to look at them directly. Some base, animalistic
part of your brain would tell you Contagious. Run. His duty as a healer compelled
him to look at them anyway of course, and he'd never refused to help someone
just because it made him uncomfortable. But still, it was an unmistakable
feeling. And sometimes he felt it looking at people with no outward illness or
injury. Just his intuition, he guessed. In those cases, he usually just left
the people alone. Weren't any spells that could help that.

Hansel, sometimes, exuded that feeling. Being gravely
injured in a way no medic could fix. And always, Goro had been content to look
the other way. Give him his space. But... well... at the moment it didn't feel
right to ignore.

"You alright?" Goro asked. Yeah, some first class
medicine, right there. Well done, Brother Goro.

**Izzy:**

 He snorted and took another drink. Adorable, honestly --
Goro not drinking. Except when he did. Pretending he had when he hadn't. Fuckin'
great, this guy. Hansel thought about saying something about how he could stand
to loosen up a bit and enjoy shit, maybe, but loosening up and enjoying shit
wasn't really what he was doing, here, so he kept his mouth shut about it.

He shrugged instead. "Couldn't sleep. You?"

**Lina:**

"I've slept alone for the past, uh..." He did the
math. "Sixteen years of my life. Oh, hey, that's half. Half my life spent
sleeping alone, and now there's two of you. Hard to adjust. What's your story?"

**Izzy:**

 Hm. Fair. Maybe Hansel should cut him a bit more slack when
he tried to escape. Or not. He wasn't saying he hated it. Hansel realized he
could just fuckin' ask, and that'd also get him out of answering Goro's
question (which was fucking unanswerable).

"The thing -- with me dragging you back to bed. That
cool?" He fixed Goro with a look. "Doesn't have to be. You can go if
you need some fuckin' space. S'fine."

**Lina:**

Goro avoided his gaze, shifting around and running a hand
through his hair. How fucking impossible to say, let alone understand, I need
my space but the feeling of being dragged back is too... Too what? Too good to
give up, but why? The same damn feeling he used to get when Amari hugged him tight
and he'd complain and squirm against her because he hated it but when she let him
go, he hated that even more.

Fuck, he was not ready to explore this in the middle of the
night.

"It's fine," he said. "Hey, I asked you a damn
question."

**Izzy:**

 It'd made him uncomfortable, and he deflected it right back
at Hansel. Figured. He laughed a bit and turned the bottle up. "Fuck am I
supposed to say, chatichi? You want pirate stories, bother Mishka. He loves
that shit."

**Lina:**

"Being a pirate is what's keeping you up at night,
then? Fascinating."

**Izzy:**

 Wouldn't say that, exactly. What the fuck. He narrowed his
eyes. "Fuck off."

**Lina:**

Hm.

Goro tilted his head to the side slightly, and just stared.
Studying.

**Izzy:**

 Hansel wasn't sure what he'd expected. He sighed.
"Look, what'd you fuckin' want, Goro?"

**Lina:**

"To see if you're okay," he said quietly.

**Izzy:**

 "I'm fuckin' great." Just stuck on a goddamn ship
for two weeks, puking his guts out in the hold, trying to act like he was
completely fine because he was the idiot who'd volunteered to come along.
"Why wouldn't I be?" He took a drink. "Fuck you for
asking."

**Lina:**

Goro's first instinct was to tell him to fuck off, get up,
and storm away. He actually started the getting up part, but stopped himself,
ending up in a crouch. He put his face against his knees and covered his head
with his arms.

There was nowhere to go. He had two or three days left of
being stuck on this ship with Hansel and Mishka, and he'd wanted them to be
good.

He'd been that person, the one who said "fuck you"
when someone tried to help. Oh, hell, had he been that person.

God, he wished he were different. More like Amari. Amari
would know what to do. He even tried to remember exactly what she'd done for
him, back in the days when he used to tell her to leave him the fuck alone.
She'd do it, but she'd like... come back after a few minutes with food for him,
and shit. Unrelenting reminders that she was there, caring for him.

Goro couldn't pull off that shit. What was he going to do,
go get Hansel another bottle of liquor?

He was the worst person possible to be dealing with this
shit. But he didn't want to leave Hansel alone. He lifted his head, just enough
to peek over his arms and glare. "Fuck you."

**Izzy:**

 "Mm, fair." It was automatic. Seemed like Goro had
started to leave, immediately, like that was automatic too. But he stopped, and
-- waited, or something. Hiding. And then he didn't leave at all.

Hansel didn't know what to do with that.

He wanted to ask Goro to come closer. Or tell him, or just
grab him, or fucking whatever. Something other than telling him to fuck off
again, so that he might do it, and Hansel could go back to the very important
shit he'd been doing before Goro had fucking bother him.

Except that he wasn't really that bothered. It was just --
automatic. People asked him if he was okay, he told them to fuck off. Who gave
a shit. And if they did, he didn't want to tell them anyway. The fact that
Goro's sounded so goddamn sincere for a second there only made it worse --
Hansel had wanted him to say fuck you back and brush it off, not ... fucking
care.

"Sorry," he muttered, and looked away, because he
couldn't fuckin' take the way Goro was looking at him.

**Lina:**

Hesitantly, Goro shifted onto his hands and knees and
crawled toward Hansel. Settled beside him and attempted to situate himself
underneath Hansel's arm.

This was apparently the kind of thing they did now, so it
seemed like as good a course of action as any.

**Izzy:**

 God fucking dammit. There wasn't going to be any fucking off
now. Hansel grumbled wordlessly and shifted to put his arm around Goro, loosely
-- then pulling him closer to kiss the top of his head -- then relaxing again.
Fine. If it was what Goro wanted --

He remembered Mishka dramatically insisting that he would
only share a bed with them if they insisted, and realized he was doing the same
fucking thing. Fuck it. This was better than sitting around drinking alone in
the dark, yeah.

**Lina:**

Goro rested against Hansel, closing his eyes. He wrapped his
arms around him and held him tightly. How strange, to be brand new to this
still, yet feel comfortable and familiar doing it. People were meant to do
this, he guessed. It was a natural state, easy to fall into.

But it was not fine. Everything was not alright. They
could've been in the bed, but Hansel had come out here, in the middle of the
fucking night, to drink by himself. There was no earthly reason to do that
unless something was tormenting you while you slept.

"Hansel," Goro said, and he squeezed Hansel
tighter, before loosening his hold enough that he'd be easy to push away. He
had a feeling Hansel would do that after the next thing he said. He was
preparing himself for it. He would accept it.

He'd gone long enough wondering. He needed to know, for both
their sakes.

"Hansel. I'd like to know what happened to your last
crew."

**Izzy:**

 Hansel tensed. His jaw clenched, and as always, he was
painfully aware of the absent tusk. Fucking Goro. This shit again. This was
what it'd all been about, right? Fucking Goro -- getting close to Mishka and
finding out shit he didn't have any fucking business knowing, and then fuckin'
antagonizing Hansel about it. Fucking relentless. Guessed he'd figured out that
Hansel wasn't just going to tell him to satisfy his morbid curiosity.

Say, Hansel, what kind of meat is this?

Fucking Goro. He was so fucking stupid. Of course. It'd all
been too abrupt, and too easy, and it'd felt too fucking good to be real.
They'd been working together for too damn long, living together on the Sugar
Glider, and Goro was too damn clever to've not read him like an open book. Goro
had seen him with Roddy and Nixie, and with Mishka, and he'd figured out how to
get close.

Laying off the meat? You, uh, lose your taste for it?

And Hansel had played right into it. God, Goro must have
been so fucking pleased with himself when Hansel had kissed him. He was fucking
good, too. Even now -- sidling up to him, acting concerned, making him feel bad
for telling Goro to fuck off. Making him want Goro to come closer. He was so
goddamn weak.

He felt a wave of heat moving through him, like a fever, and
recognized it in just enough time to shove away from the mast -- away from Goro
-- to the railing, keeling over it to throw up.

Fuck. He didn't know what to do about this. Mishka would
kill Goro if he found out but Hansel wasn't going to fucking sleep in the same
bed with him anymore. Mishka'd know something had happened, and Hansel couldn't
lie to him. But he didn't want Goro dead, he just -- wanted him to stay the
fuck away from him. Shit. He spat down into the ocean and propped his elbows on
the rail, putting his face in his hands. Fuck. Fuck. Fucking Goro.

**Lina:**

Uh oh. Goro had expected him to get mad or something, but
not to get sick. He chased Hansel to the railing. "Hey. Hey, listen."
Shit. What would Amari say? What the fuck would Amari say? "It's alright.
You know, whatever it is, it's alright." No, that was most assuredly not
what Amari would say; that was bullshit. Goro reached up and placed a hand,
tentatively, on Hansel's shoulder.

**Izzy:**

 Hansel shrugged him off roughly and coughed, feeling like he
might throw up again. "Fucking -- get the fuck away from me." His
throat was raw from the acid, his voice coming out ragged. "It's all right
-- fuck you. Fuck you, Goro."

He bent further over the railing, shifting his hands to the
back of his neck instead. Still felt sick, but like his stomach was empty now.
Nothing to be done about it. He coughed again and it came out more like a sob.
Fuck.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He wanted to
shove him. Punch him again, maybe. Throw him off the goddamn ship like he'd
threatened to before. For a second he gave into it and rounded on Goro,
grabbing the front of his robe, snarling, "Why'd you fucking do
this?" but then immediately losing the will and just shoving him away,
leaning heavily back over the railing, spitting.

**Lina:**

Goro stumbled backward when Hansel shoved him, and he grabbed
onto the railing to catch himself. Fuck. Fuck, this was bad. He thought about
going to get Mishka--maybe Mishka would know what to do. Maybe he'd seen Hansel
freak out like this.

No, fuck that. Goro had caused this problem, and hell if he
wouldn't be the one to fix it. He realized his mistake before: Amari wouldn't
say anything to someone this upset. She'd calm them down first, and then talk.
Of course, Calm Emotions could always backfire. Sometimes the person was madder
when the spell wore off. Usually not with Amari, though. Usually, whatever she
said to someone during that precious minute could bring them down and make them
trust her.

It had worked on Goro a few times, anyway.

Goro rested his elbows on the railing, almost mimicking
Hansel's posture as he clasped his hands together and prayed. Then he
straightened up, held his palms out facing Hansel, and said, "Be
calm." A silvery blue light glowed over Hansel's chest and throat for a
moment. Then he jerked, and it dissipated. Goro flinched in surprise. He'd
thrown it off. Fuck. Probably would be none too happy about Goro attempting to
cast magic on him, either, whether he recognized the spell or not. So Goro
didn't think; he just tried it again. "Be calm."

This time, the light sank in, and Hansel slumped over on the
railing. Then pushed himself back up straight, blinking slowly. Goro moved in
quick, reaching up to cup Hansel's cheek and turn his face so they could look
each other in the eye.

Goro remembered from last time he'd been under the spell. The
emotions were still there, but they were like muffled voices from a distant
room. The effect was so strange that even if you knew it was coming, it caught
you off-guard, leaving you puzzled. Trying to remember what was bothering you,
how you'd ended up in this position.

"It's going to wear off after a minute, and then the
feelings are going to come back," Goro said. His heart was pounding and
his hands were shaking, but somehow, he knew what he wanted to say.
"You're not in any danger. Or if you are, we'll take it down together. Whatever
it fucking was, Hansel--and I know it was something, I know I'm missing part of
that story--whatever happened, I want to help you." Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck, he
had to say it. "Because I love you. Alright? You're going to be upset
again in a second, but know that you heard that, and know that it's true. I
love you."

He moved his hand to the back of Hansel's neck, pulled him
down, and gave him a kiss. Then he let go and backed away a few feet, gripped
the railing, and watched Hansel anxiously, waiting.

**Izzy:**

 Goro was trying to compel him.

Hansel was going to fucking kill him --

And then it took hold, and he settled. Whether he liked it
or not. And he didn't -- really have any idea if he liked it or not. It was all
numb and distant. He had the impression that he was fucking furious at Goro for
spelling him, and fucking devastated over something else, but it was only the
sense of the emotion, and it faded. He was just confused. Vaguely sad, below
it, below everything else, like an undercurrent sweeping the seafloor.

He realized Goro looked scared and felt a twinge of
something else, like guilt or regret, but it was just as muted, and he had
trouble comprehending what Goro was saying. Not the words themselves, really,
even though he felt like he was underwater and like everything should be
muffled. It just didn't make any fucking sense. But without knowing quite was
he was feeling, or what he had felt, he couldn't tell why it didn't make sense.

A little unconscious sound came from him when Goro pulled
him down to kiss him, and he watched Goro back away nervously and wait for the
spell to wear off. He felt himself sway in place slightly, off-balance, out of
focus.

His gut clenched and everything came back at once like a
rush of sound, like waking up to the roaring of a crowd. Fucking -- Hansel
would fucking kill him for that. Fucking control magic. Making him do shit,
getting in his head, fucking figured Goro would have a spell like that --

He white-knuckled the railing with one hand. Trying to
process what Goro had said, what he'd done. The blue-silver light, like the
spell he'd sunk into Hansel's chest in a real fuckin' dumb attempt to protect
him, or something. Didn't check out. Didn't fit.

"Don't fucking --." He still felt unstable, even
with the spell out of his system. Shaky and hoarse. "Don't fucking do
that."

Or else?

Fuck. He swallowed. Okay. All right. What was -- another option,
here. Goro wasn't fucking with him? He'd definitely been fucking with him
before. But -- fuck, a lot had happened since then. A lot had happened real
fuckin' recently. And even before then, when Goro had wanted to fuck with him,
he still hadn't really done anything to hurt him. Nothing like what Hansel's
mind had jumped to. Fuck, it'd be so goddamn elaborate. He didn't actually know
if Goro had the patience for that kind of scam. Or why he'd give that much of a
shit.

The other option was that Goro actually did love him -- not
in the desperate, angry, think-I'm-going-to-die way -- and actually did want to
help him, and that's why he was still standing there looking like he could bolt
at any second, but he hadn't.

Hansel took a step back. Fuck. Fuck, okay. They still had
two days at sea. There could still be a storm. If -- if Goro knew what was
going on, then he could help Mishka. And if it scared Goro off, and Goro
couldn't be around him anymore for the next two days, and avoided him after
that -- yeah. That was fine. That was probably better, actually.

He opened his mouth and closed it again. Didn't know what to
say. Fuck you, maybe. And turn and walk away. No, c'mon, all right. "Don't
fucking -- do that magic thing to me. Ever fucking again." He thought
about making a threat, but it'd be empty. "Because -- in the storm --
there --."

It was coming out all fucking broken. He'd been calmer when
he'd told Larkin because he'd had time to think about it, and he'd settled on
the fact that she was going to kill him. It'd be a lot goddamn easier if he
thought Goro would do that.

"Just don't -- just stay out of my fucking head. Okay?
Fuck." He couldn't fucking do it anymore. His fist ached from clutching
the railing. He dropped down, managing to cross his legs under him, at least,
even if it wasn't the most graceful thing. "I'm sorry I grabbed you."

**Lina:**

"Sorry. I hate it too. But there've been times when I
needed it." Goro kept watching him carefully, still staying a few feet
away, still holding the railing tight. "Do you remember what I said?"

**Izzy:**

 Hansel nodded mutely.

**Lina:**

Goro didn't know what else to do. Pushing Hansel to say
anything more seemed like... not the best idea. Goro wanted to hug him, but for
all he knew Hansel was fighting off the urge to choke him, or something. Goro
wavered, taking a step back, then forward again. "Do you... do you need
something?"

**Izzy:**

 Hansel had no fucking clue what. Mishka would be -- fine
with this, and he could lean on him, but if he grabbed Goro and and held onto
him the way he really fucking wanted to, and then he said the shit he needed to
say, that would just make it worse. It'd just remind Goro that Hansel could
hurt him, if he wanted to. Or something else wanted him to.

He made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat and
closed his eyes, and dropped his face into one hand as he held the other one
out, palm up. "Can you -- come here. But not too close."

**Lina:**

Goro dropped to his knees and crawled closer. He looked at
Hansel's outstretched hand, then at his hidden face, then back to his hand.
Hmm. Not too close. Slowly, real fucking slowly, Goro reached out and touched
his fingers to Hansel's palm, ready to retract the instant things didn't seem
right.

**Izzy:**

 Skittish. But -- he'd come closer. Hansel was dying to
squeeze his hand, but he didn't move.

All right. He was calmer now. It'd all bled out of him and
left him drained, exhausted of his own life and the fact that he had to keep
recounting it. Couldn't fucking move past it, though. He didn't raise his head,
but his voice was more even.

"On the ship." He cleared his throat. "We --
we ran out of food. And we were all going to die if we didn't do ... something.
Captain set up a lottery. We drew straws." Don't get all sentimental,
Elitash said, and pushed the axe into his hand. "I killed them. Cook --
took care of the rest. But that's not -- I mean, fuck." Like that wasn't
bad enough. "There was a storm. I saw -- I heard things in it. One thing.
This fuckin' voice. Told me to kill all of them, that it was the only way I'd
survive, and --."

Deep breath.

"I don't know if it made me do it or I just ... did it.
But I did." Serena looking up at him, full of spite, knowing all along.
"I didn't want to, but I did. And then I just -- eventually drifted into
port and fucking went and kept being alive. And I don't know if it's gonna
happen again. But if there's another storm while we're out here, I -- Mishka's
supposed to stop me."

He pulled his hand back.

"It's fine."

**Lina:**

Goro frowned. "Huh." He scratched his chin,
thinking. "A voice? What'd it sound like?"

**Izzy:**

 Hansel looked up at him. "What."

**Lina:**

"Uh." Goro half smiled, which he knew was wildly
inappropriate, but there it was. "I mean, like I said, I knew there was a
piece of the story missing. Seems like that's it. What kind of voice? You think
it was like, some kind of aberration or something?"

**Izzy:**

 What a fucking reaction. Hansel was too tired to be
incredulous, but he gave it his best go. "I don't fuckin' know what kind
of voice it was, Goro. For fucksake. That's what you fuckin' took away from that?"
He felt like he should impress upon Goro that this was a fucking dangerous
situation, because he didn't seem to be grasping it.

**Lina:**

Goro snorted. "What am I supposed to take away from it?
I'm trying to figure out what new monster I need to add to my kill list."

**Izzy:**

 Hansel wanted to say: Me, idiot. I'm the monster you're
supposed to add to your kill list.

"For fucksake," he muttered, and sighed, and
rubbed at his face. "It sounded like thunder. I don't know. I don't know
shit about aberrations." He paused. "Y'know, I fuckin' thought about
telling you. After the thing with Diva -- controlling you. When you were fucked
up. Thought it might make you feel better or something."

Then he hadn't, because Goro had realized that Hansel's son
was the one responsible for the entire goddamn thing, and he'd punched him
instead.

He remembered asking Goro, You think Diva's a god?
Hesitated.

"I don't think this is one we can kill."

**Lina:**

"Eh. We'll see." Goro picked at his fingernails,
then grinned at Hansel. It faded quickly. Hansel just looked so fucking
miserable. "Listen. I know what it's like to live wondering when's the
next time you're gonna lose control of yourself and hurt people. I've been
there. So you can't say I don't know where you're coming from." He thought
of how he told Larkin she needed to shoot him if it happened again, and how she
kept fucking refusing. How he kept thinking everyone'd be better off if he just
died. And for once, he had sympathy for how everyone had told him to cut it the
fuck out. He wasn't sure it would help, but he said, "I'd take a maybe-gonna-get-possessed-again
Hansel over no Hansel, any day."

**Izzy:**

 "Yeah, well. Diva's fuckin' dead. Not really the same
thing anymore, is it."

That fucking grin, though. It was a little worrying. At
least Mishka had the sense to acknowledge the damn thing was a problem, but
fuckin' Goro. Not even fazed.

Again he had that urge to grab Goro and prove to him that he
should be fucking afraid, but he just -- fucking wanted to enjoy this for a
second, if he could. The nonchalance. It was irresponsible and dumb as hell,
but it did kind of make him feel better. And he'd thought Goro had just --
fuckin' done all this to screw with him. Eldath.

He brushed past what he'd said before, and Goro's line about
preferring to have him around regardless. "Look. Anyway, I -- get fuckin'
night terrors and shit. Especially on ships. It's fine. Couple more days 'til
Calimport. I probably won't ... kill everyone before we get there." He
waved it off. Bad fuckin' joke.

**Lina:**

"Diva's dead," Goro repeated. "Was that just
good fucking luck? No, it's because you killed her. You know, when I couldn't
do it myself, because I was out of commission. You went out there and did it
for me. That's how this works, isn't it? Having a team? A crew, as you would
say?" Goro felt like he was made of metal, and Hansel was a magnet,
drawing him in. That fucker just needed a hug, Goro could tell. Goro pushed his
way onto Hansel's lap, put his arms around his shoulders and kissed his
forehead. "Yeah, you probably won't kill everyone, you're right. And if
you do, well boo fucking hoo, we all had a good run." He kissed him a few
more times. "Sorry you're having trouble sleeping. You know, there's this
chime that'll put you to sleep magically, if you need it. I knew a guy who
traded his pinky finger for it. Fucking nutjob." More kisses.

**Izzy:**

 Hansel scowled. He should push Goro away, but he couldn't
quite make himself commit to it. The little shit was relentless, just not in
the way he'd thought. Or maybe in exactly the way he'd thought, just coming
from a different direction. Something like that.

Either way, it was kind of a fucking relief, just not having
to talk about it anymore -- and having it glazed over. Like it wasn't a big
deal, some-fucking-how. It had no effect on how willing Goro was to touch him,
and fuck, even though he was grumbling about it, he'd really fucking needed
that. Mishka -- Mishka wouldn't leave him, again. Maybe Goro wouldn't either. Maybe
he'd end up killing them both because of it.

He'd think about it later.

"Eh, fuck you, chatichi." He pulled Goro in by his
collar to kiss him back, quick, then closer to hug him, resting his chin on
Goro's shoulder. "S'funny, I know this guy who traded a minute of his life
away for a fuckin' ring. Goddamn idiot. Pretty handsome, though."

December 3, 2018

**Lina:**

[END] Title: Handsome. Summary: Hansel tells Goro the full
story of what happened to him and his last crew. Goro decides to kill whatever
the hell it is that possessed Hansel, somehow.