[PRP] Baby Talk. (Titus/Riyo)

[Inu-Mitsu]

"Oh, don't mind if I do." Titus plucked the picture from the older feline's grasp and looked at it with amusement. What a perfect little blackmailing devise.

He barely paid attention as the man went on about food and family bonding time. Titus couldn't even conjure a nightmare that good so he left the man to it until Riyo felt fit to remind him of the reason his face still hurt.

"I got my payment." He held up the picture before he stuffed it in his back pocket for safe keeping. That would be a little gem for later.

"Oh birthday?" Titus didn't do birthdays but who was he to deny Riyo her's and also add in a few helpful suggestions. "You should try to replace that dress she had in the picture. Bet she would love that." Payback was a b***h Riyo.

Sexy Cocaine

I am assuming he's holding the picture out for Titus if not I can change it XD

 

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo couldn't believe it. First they were fighting over her nonexistent child, now they were sharing pictures?! "That's ******** creepy! You shouldn't have a picture of me as a child and he shouldn't be handing them out like candy!" The demoness tried to grab the picture before it was caringly stuffed in his pocket.. And failed.

That was fine, Titus. You would let your guard down eventually. Riyo had no qualms digging through your pockets.

Her birthday, however, was the last thing she had expected to hear tonight. "What? No it's not..." The ghoul reached into her own back pocket to look at her wallet.

"Of course it is!" Jessee piped up happily, then his surprise shifted into confusion. "Did you not... Realize it was your birthday? Are you that busy with school?" Obviously he had no idea.

Titus's suggestion brought a hopeful look to the older man's face. "You think so? What else would she like? I'm sure she's told you what she wants for her birthday."

Riyo had managed to flush out a crumpled piece of paper from the folds of her wallet with a date written on it. "s**t.." Yeah, it was. Next Moonday. Ugh. "No! I don't want that!" The ghoul stomped her foot, flustered beyond reason. "You know what I want? A big bottle of vodka to forget it's my birthday and you to leave me alone!"

And Jessee just brushed it off. "Hah. You don't drink... Right? You... You don't drink Riyo. You're too young. Bad things happen when you drink." If only he knew.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

The demon smirked, the picture tucked away safely and out of Riyo's reach. At least for now. He didn't seemed to be bothered by the idea of being creepy. He was a nightmare demon after all.

"Oh, I'm sure I could help you with a few ideas." The demon grinned, curiously looking at Riyo to find her shuffling through her wallet for a piece of paper. "I don't do birthdays but I at least remember vaguely when mine is. Do you really have to write it down?"

But Riyo had gotten defensive about his gift suggestion shortly after and her father's response to the booze idea had Titus laughing all over again. This was such a delightful train wreck. "He doesn't know hahaha. You are so far out of the loop old man." Though Titus was one to talk, though his one and only drinking experience had landed him with probation. Lucky him.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo shot Titus a nasty look as she shoved the paper back in her wallet, hastily returning it to her back pocket. Yes, she did have to write it down, because she made a point not to think about it. There were a lot of things she tried not to think about. Most of them her father had made a personal vendetta to remind her of.

"Don't know what?" Jessee looked inbetween the two, blissfully unaware.

The cat ghoul shrugged. "I think he's talking about the time we were engaged for 8 hours." He wasn't, and Riyo knew it, but she wasn't going to sit there and take it without some return fire. "Instead of a ring I got an empty vodka bottle. Very romantic."

It was Jessee's turn to be dumbfounded. Things were quiet for awhile on his end before he finally managed to ask. "S-so... I guess... You guys couldn't work it out?" Not that he wasn't secretly glad but... He had obviously missed the connection from point A to point B.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

And the laughing suddenly stopped.

Titus returned that narrow eyed stare, that particular part of the evening he would have rather forgotten, as Riyo probably realized. "Well, the bottle was only empty because you drank it all." Save for the bit he had drank himself.

Never again.

And if Jessee couldn't be any more baffling Titus turned toward the older feline with a look of pure amazement. "Does anything work upstairs or is your head just for show?"  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Never say never Titus.

"It's a pretty good show, right?" Jessee stroked his soul patch and threw on a smoulder. He did look pretty sharp for an older guy who had just left his hobo ways behind, but yes, he just answered the nightmare demon's question with another question.

"It was offered. You don't turn down free drinks." Would she turn it down if it happened again? No. No she wouldn't. She'd let the same thing happen if it meant free booze. Riyo knew she had problems, but at least she wasn't a quitter.

"Riyo, that's awful. You shouldn't drink at all, but even less with strange boils!"

Riyo's expression completely flattened. All of this was just... So tiring. "It is awful. You know what else is awful? We had a wine cellar in the house and there wasn't a lock on the door. I lived alone for the rest of my childhood and drowned my feelings with gallons and gallons of booze. Which I'd really like to go do right now because you just keep poking and prodding at these little wounds I'd forgotten I had. Thanks. Thanks a lot. You're like... This little maggot trying to eat it's way into the dead flesh of my heart without a iota of concern about all the damage you're leaving behind on your journey. You're a parasite clinging to a corpse because you remember the corpse used to be a live thing that gave you sustenance . Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted to hear?" Riyo had somehow managed to carry out her long-winded explanation without so much as blinking.

Silence.

"... Your mother let you drink?!"

show spoilerhide spoiler

Riyo said nothing as she turned around and started walking. It was only when there was a gap did she dare to speak up. "He's your father now Titus. You keep him."  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Jessee's answer was all that Titus needed, though there had been more than enough evidence piling up that the man was an idiot. The only question now was how was he alive and moving around since the demon imagined he was only slightly above vegetable status.

"If you call a trailer park hoe down a good show....sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night." Titus could have done without the smolder.

The demon was about to protest about that night spent drinking but Riyo had started a monologue and if there anything Titus had learned from games it was that you couldn't simply skip passed them no matter how hard you hit the x button. The ghoul had made some pretty hefty jabs in her speech and he turned to her father to see how he took it only for Jessee to ask the most pointless question. Was that really all he had gotten out of that?

"There are vegetables lying in the fear wards with more brain activity than you." The demon watched Riyo turn and walk off scoffing at the notion he would claim this moron. "Tough break, old man. I guess I should hand off my mock father of the year award to you. Congrats."  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Jessee watched in surprise as Riyo started walking back to the dorms, raising up a hand to wave... Not that she would see it. "Goodnight princess! Think about what you want for your birthday." He didn't plan on chasing after her, because even he knew that he was too close to her boiling point for comfort.

A loud SLAM from the dorm building door was the only response he received. Riyo was doneion rings, and if Titus didn't consider them even yet then there was just no fixing it.

When the cat ghoul disappeared into the building, Jessee let out a long exasperated sigh and practically slumped over where he stood. "You're right. I'm an idiot." His face grew grim, making a hand gesture as if he had just accepted his trophy gracefully. "I'd like to thank the little people for such an honor."

The demon replaced his wallet in his back pocket, shaking his head as he thought about his actions. "I used to think I was pretty clever when I was younger, because I was good at manipulating people and getting what I wanted. My own dad was a brutal man, but I could hide behind mom and get away with murder." He reached into his side pocket and pulled out a single cighoulette. "Not that you care, I'm sure. You don't look like someone who gives too many shits about anything." One didn't have to be a genius to see that much.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

In a matter of moments Riyo was gone and the door was slammed shut in her wake. Titus supposed he had had his fun. At least for now. It made up for the scareling thing....slightly. Though he still felt like he was drawing the short straw on the deal considering his state of disrepair.

The demon's expression was rather flat as Jessee began to talk about himself. Honestly he had to just like the sound of his own voice. "You would be correct in assuming that yes. I only have so many ******** to give so I have to ration them for special occasions."

He began to make his way toward the demon dorms as well before he paused. "I'm not saying it would help but maybe you should stop thinking about the person that Riyo was and see who she is now." Single ******** given, single ******** used. Titus was spent for the night. "Though you are a pretty sad excuse for an old man and I thought my father was an award winning asshat."  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Oh, he did. Jessee loved the sound of his own voice. More than likely a big reason why he was in such a mess in the first place. The feline smiled dryly at Titus's explanation of how many ******** he gave, searching his person for a lighter. "Got one thing right." He laughed, finally locating what he had been looking for. Ah, yes.

Jessee watched silently as the nightmare demon moved to enter the building himself. The bit of advice... Was a bit shocking. There was a spark in the darkness as a small flame lit the end of the cig. "Sound advice coming from the guy that doesn't care." He took a long drag and sighed. It was hard to see that, though. There was no picking back up where he left off, only fighting for something new.

The older man turned to walk back the other direction. "Well. I suppose that's something." It made him wonder just what kind of man could raise... That... But nevertheless. "Perhaps one day you'll find some pity in your heart to let me know who she is now. I don't think she'll be telling me herself." And perhaps a winning lottery ticket would magically fall in his lap. Fat chance.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

"I don't care about you, no." Titus corrected. "But Riyo is a friend and I suppose that means I have to look out for her at times." Or try to. He was still trying to figure all that out. Really he was just glad he never saw his own parents.

As Jessee turned to leave Titus made his way to the door pausing in pushing it open as the older feline spoke back to him. There was a cruel smile as he glanced back. "There will never be enough pity for that, old man. You're on your own unless you want to make it worth my while." But Titus didn't even wait to see what Jessee would say in response before he vanished inside the demon dorms and closed the door.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Jessee could only smirk and shake his head at the word 'friend'. That was one hell of a friendship, but he kept the thought to himself.

He had started walking as pity was deemed an unplayable card by tournament rules... But it looked like bribery was still on the table. He paused for only a second to glance over his shoulder again, noticing that the boil was gone.

"Make it worth your while, huh?" The feline spoke to himself as he exhaled smoke and continued walking. "We'll see." Whatever the boil might've been considering, for however brief it might've been, Jessee had a feeling it wasn't money. That was okay though. There wasn't much he wouldn't do at this point. These were desperate times, after all.