[PRP] Bad Romance (Riyo/Titus)

[Inu-Mitsu]

The door was slammed behind them and their footsteps quickly ate up ground as they left the building in their wake. “Man, that guy was an a*****e.” And Titus would know he was one himself.

Peeking back over his shoulder he could see that the building was almost out of sight and soon there was nothing left in view. That’s when they began to slow. “So where do you want to go? Do you want to go back to your dorm?” His voice didn’t seem the carry the amount of concern about it that it could have but this situation wasn’t so strange to him. In fact, it sadly felt normal.

The demon turned back then and found Riyo examining the blood under her fingernails. That was certainly the drawback of having claws, it was another reason why the gloves were nice to have.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo said nothing to Titus's declaration that her father was an a*****e. Perhaps on a normal day, she would've agreed wholeheartedly.

"I don't care." Her voice reflected the pain she'd been fighting to conceal. Where she was going next didn't seem to matter. She let her hand drop, taking a few more steps before she just... Fell to her knees and plopped down in the grass face first. "On second thought, I don't feel like moving that far." She paused. "Or ever again. You go on." She shooed him along with one hand, which promptly smacked back down on the ground.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Titus’ brow furrowed at the feline’s display as she moved a couple of feet only to drop to the ground. He wasn’t sure how to react but the shooing motion certainly didn’t get him to leave. Instead he stepped a bit closer and crouched on the ground beside her. Jack it hurt to do so too. Now that the adrenaline was waning all the pain he had forgotten about was coming back at full force.

“So what? You’re going to pout now?” He was showing his full support as a friend. “The Geezer was an a*****e and sure he’s your father but I don’t know that he’s worth this much effort.” But since Riyo said she didn’t feel like moving Titus decided to make himself comfortable and took a seat. Might as well.

“I’m sure its a surprise to see him but...what did you expect?” Did she think he had been spirited away? Killed?  

[Sexy Cocaine]

"I expected that I'd never have to see him again." She moved her head to the side, eyeing one of the blades of grass just inches from her face before just closing them completely. "It took me a long time to get over the fact that I didn't have anyone to rely on, so when I finally started to cope, I told myself something bad had happened to him and even though he was gone, I was still really important to someone. I guess I always knew better, but I kept waiting for that day when someone would tell me a tragic story of what happened and I could feel justified in the hand I'd been dealt."

Turning to her side, the demoness curled into herself. "I should've kept my guard up. Things were going so well, and I felt like I'd finally be okay. That should've been my first clue that something wasn't right."
 

[Inu-Mitsu]

Titus could see that he guessed. It was probably easier to imagine that something terrible had happened to her father instead of him just up and leaving. Or being tossed out as he had claimed. It still didn’t really explain why he hadn’t come to see the ghoul.

Watching Riyo curl into herself Titus finally seemed to grasp the fact that she wasn’t going to bounce back from this quickly. It was a huge blow sure but it really had her down. What was he expected to do? Was he supposed to do anything? He tried to think back on the times he had been down and sadly that was really recent. Like really recent, but he mostly sat and sulked on his own.

He thought hard on what a friend was supposed to do and finally settled on reaching out and hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder. It was sort of an awkward ‘there there’ gesture but at least he made the effort. “You know what, ******** him.” Titus said clearly. “You’ve made it this far on your own haven’t you? You don’t have to acknowledge him if you don’t want to.”  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo's eyes opened slightly as she felt the hand on her shoulder. She knew he was trying. Just the fact that he was still here meant he was trying, and it would've meant a lot to her if she hadn't been so wounded.

She reached up to touch his hand, grasping it like it would break if she squeezed too hard. Riyo was so tired of being on her own. Most days she didn't feel like she was worth the weight of carrying herself. Today even less so. She hated her own company, and the fact that the last person she knew of in her small, twisted family didn't even care was just another nail in the coffin. He didn't matter anymore. He was irrelevant, but he had still mattered once upon a time.

This, however, she neglected to mention.

"Thanks." She tried to say earnestly, though her voice was still sullen. "And, for earlier." Though she mentioned no specifics. "You made me very happy." She hesitated to admit, feeling bitter that things had ended so abruptly.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Riyo had at least reciprocated his action which meant he wasn't being rejected. Maybe he was on the right track to this whole comfort thing. It just wasn't the easiest thing for him to nail down, he hadn't gotten anything like this growing up and even now he tried to keep things to himself. It was just easier that way.

Tilting his head toward the demoness when she thanked him for earlier, his mind desperately tried to narrow down what he was being thanked for. He tilted his head up, his expression somewhat awkward as he contemplated a few things. "You're...welcome?" Yeah, better to just accept it in any case.

Trailing off Titus was still at a loss if there was anything else he was supposed to do. What did they often do in the movies? Maybe that would be a good resource to think back on. Though most of the movies Titus watched involved a lot of fighting, action and not a whole lot of feelings.

"Are you sure there is no where you want to go?" Because just laying in the grass really didn't sound all that appealing to him. "We could go get those...what were they? Sushi?" Titus had a little bit of cash still on hand, he could probably manage.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

It was okay that Titus didn't know what she was talking about. Maybe it was better that way.

Riyo listened to Titus try and inch her out of the mental rock she'd crawled under, in all honesty surprised he hadn't just given up yet. Even more surprised that he remembered one of her favorite foods. "Are you just wanting more wasabi?" She smiled weakly, uncurling herself and managing to sit up.

"Since you refuse to leave me alone, I'll go wherever you want to." Because while grass naps didn't sound up his alley, Riyo couldn't think of anything besides it. "I can't promise I'll be much fun, though."
 

[Inu-Mitsu]

“I don’t eat food.” Titus protested to the idea. But he did, he wanted some wasabi.

With Riyo sitting up Titus slowly got to his feet though managed to let a small groan of pain escape. He was going to have to break down and take some painkillers when he got back to his dorm. Once he was on his feet he held his hand down to the feline. “Don’t worry I’ve already lowered my expectations for the rest of the evening.” He tried to tease.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

"Well luckily wasabi isn't much of a food." She countered, her satellite dish ears picking up his groaning. Well, he did apparently get in a fight with a car and win... If you can call that winning.

As his hand was offered down to her, Riyo eyed it curiously. It was a rare occasion she accepted help, but it was fairly obvious that now, more than ever, she needed it. Her hand grasped the boil's, proceeding to dust herself off as she stood. "Lowering your expectations for me? You're so sweet." Even in the lowest of moods, it was hard not to banter back and forth with him.
 

[Inu-Mitsu]

“If its not food why do they put it on the plate in the first place.” Though in that respect Titus probably wouldn’t understand decorative garnish either.

“Yeah, just don’t tell anyone. I don’t want to ruin my sparkling reputation.” Once the ghoul was on her feet Titus waited for her to brush herself off before he started to head in the direction of the sushi place from last time. He was curious what Riyo was going to do now knowing that her father was nearby but he was careful not to ask.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

"It's supposed to enhance the flavor of food. Wasabi isn't really meant as a stand-alone." She tried to explain, but ended up just shrugging. Whatever floated his boat. "Though I guess you'd be a cheap date since it's usually complimentary anyways." She followed a few steps behind the boil, though her eyes seemed glued to the ground.

"I won't tell if you don't tell everyone my father is a hobo." It had been meant as a playful jab, but she ended up regretting the words leaving her mouth. Her hands ran through her hair. "I don't know what I'm going to do."  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Black and white eyes trailed back to the feline walking behind him as she made a somewhat playful remark. Somewhat because he could see the regret that settled shortly after.

“Who says you have to do anything? Why not just wait and see what happens?” It was a sound idea to Titus. Let the old geezer brood about the situation for a while and make the first move himselff. And if Riyo decided she didn’t want him around she would have probably had enough time to muster the courage to tell him.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

"I hate leaving the ball in someone else's court." Riyo sighed in frustration, though what Titus suggested is most likely what she'd have to do. "I just don't want him to catch me off guard like that again." Which, undoubtedly, he would.

"Maybe he'll do something crazy and they can just chuck him in with mother." Riyo rubbed her chin and nodded as if that sounded like a reasonable fate. "I'm sure she'd like some company. Looking a little worse for wear the last time I saw her." For once, thinking about her seemed like a better alternative. "Admittedly a lot like me." Then she cringed. "Maybe I should get that haircut." The ghoul nervously combed through her hair, eying her long golden locks.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Titus really wasn't sure what to suggest about that. If she didn't want him to have the next move she would have to do something herself but what that would be he had no idea. Avoidance was always Titus' main strategy when it came to his own parents.

When the comment about 'a lot like me' hit his ears Titus thought back to when her father had started to compare her actions to her mother. It was a bit out of line considering he had left Riyo with her mother so who exactly was she supposed to learn from. That and Titus thought she was holding herself together pretty well considering the chaos of the situation.

"Would a haircut make you feel better?" Titus asked. He had no real say about her hair nor was it his place if he did. Riyo could probably shave it and Titus would...well he would probably laugh a little at first but that would be about it. He just wasn't sure it was going to keep her from comparing herself to her mother. Those words could easily be haunting. He knew when he got compared to his father from time to time it always left a bad impression with him and he thought about it for days...weeks. Sometimes he never stopped thinking about it.