ACE ATTORNEY AU

[enigmaster]

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[enigmaster]

[His grip on his sleeve tightens visibly.] ...Poor phrasing, then.

[agoodname]

....it's fine. [....what is happening. He swallows.] Anyway. Um. Good night?

[enigmaster]

Right, yes. Good night. [He takes his box, obviously, since. Well. Clothes in there and all. And then he just... makes his way over to the bedroom. Sitting down on the bed and letting out a long breath. Then... inhale. Exhale. Slow breaths. He's. Fine.]

1/2

[agoodname]

[and Oswald just....sits down, hard, on the couch. Stupid. Stupid--he shouldn't have--and he presses his fingers to his eyes, not thinking about it, don't think about it, just-- He shouldn't have done. Edward's clearly uncomfortable and whatever Oswald did, with however he reacted, it must've been too obvious how much he wanted Edward to touch him, how much he wanted his attention, for him to be close and he-- He should have pulled back. Put some distance. Paid better attention to Edward's reactions and not been so stuck in feeling besotted that he was blinded to how uncomfortable he was. Oswald swallows, dropping his hands and reaching for the blanket he used last night, and pulling it around his shoulders. He should just...sleep. Maybe he'll wake up and Edward will be gone. Maybe he'll still be there. Either way, he's...he can't do that again. If Edward stays. He has nowhere else to go, and how horrible would it be if he thought he was obligated to the clearly unwanted attention that Oswald put on him? He lays down on the couch, reaching for a pillow and tucking it under his head, and closing his eyes. ]

2/2

[agoodname]

"....do you want to talk about it?" [softly, though Elijah doesn't fully materialize, clearly unsure of his welcome]

[enigmaster]

[Edward doesn't look up. He opens his mouth, he's not sure if it's to say no, go away, please go away or to say yes, god, please. He doesn't know. He doesn't know and he just closes his mouth, slowly, and stays quiet, because he can't decide on what to even say. So that's... not much of an answer.]

[agoodname]

[....that's not a no.

Elijah finishes materializing, and sits next to Edward on the bed. and just...waits.]

[enigmaster]

[Edward withdraws into himself more. It's... hard. He's not sure he can say anything. He just knows that, at some point, the nervousness turned into anxiety which is slowly just turning into all-encompassing fear. It's familiar. That doesn't really make it any easier. He needs... a bit. Just give him a few more moments to get himself together. Slow breaths. It's fine, just. Slow breaths.]

[agoodname]

[that's fine. Edward can take all the time he needs. Elijah is used to being patient.]

[enigmaster]

[It's a few more moments and then Edward... manages to get there. Kind of.] ...I kind of... messed that up, right?

[agoodname]

"...how so?" [gently--a simple inquiry]

[enigmaster]

I kind of freaked out at the end there.

[agoodname]

"A little bit, yes, but not to the point where I would say it's messed up."

[enigmaster]

It feels like it. ...I'm bad at this.

[agoodname]

[he can't help but chuckle just a little at that]

"To be fair, I don't think you're as bad as you think you are...and my son is not particularly good at "this" either."

[enigmaster]

No, I'm... I know I'm bad at it, I don't need-- It's fine. That I am. That's just how it is, you know.

[agoodname]

"I'm hardly sugarcoating, Edward." [gently, again] "You sound very certain of that, however."

[enigmaster]

Because I am? I don't get people and I'm not good at dealing with them, that's just... a fact.

[agoodname]

"I think you've been doing fine. But people aren't always exactly patient."

[enigmaster]

[Edward scoffs a little.] Expecting people to be patient with me is kind of asking a lot. [Not worth the effort.] I don't expect anyone to do that.

[agoodname]

"....I can understand that." [quietly]

"But...I don't think Oswald would be angry with you for being a little wrongfooted now and then."

[enigmaster]

Well, that's nice of him. Not that it really matters. This is only for the rest of the week and then... that'll be that. [He'll get a place. And then he won't get to see Oswald anymore.]

[agoodname]

[Elijah presses his lips together a bit uncertainly]

"You...don't want to see him after this week?"

[enigmaster]

Whether I do or not doesn't especially matter.

[agoodname]

"Whyever not?"