bakerstreet | winter is a lingering season

How predictable.

[He chuckles. He should've known, of course you're 'treasure hunting', though that could mean a lot of things. Literally treasure, bounties, eyes and ears or sticks and snails and puppy dog tails. Or maybe he's just searching for more to fill up that wonderful book of his, though if he keeps adding pages getting a win over on him is going to continue being difficult. The challenge never stops being enticing though.]

I've always like that curiosity of yours.

What sort of thing are you looking for?

[Still smiling, not expecting any smile back either. But he's always enjoyed that deep look of contemplation on Chrollo's face. He feels like his heart is already beating a little faster as he stares at him. His aura is quieter now, but even that he's having a hard time silencing completely. Not while he sits here so close to him, alone with him... It's a shame the storm is so malicious and this cabin is so small...]

[it's some sort of test designed by fate, really. to make the conditions less than ideal, seeing if it's possible to wait longer. Chrollo's aura is restrained in comparison to Hisoka's, enough to blanket him and provide a buffer against the other. tense enough, when the both of them could release energy and destroy things around them without moving a single muscle. moreso when one of then could lash out by surprise. but will they risk it? unlikely.]

Something that "hides in the shadows." The way it's spoken about, it's either some very valuable gem or it's someone's ability. Knowing the truth is part of the reward.

[if it was a gem, it would be a pretty thing to have and to hold for a while, until it grew boring and he passed it on. if it was an ability, then it could be another tool. either way, the challenge of the location was appealing. dwelling on that, for a moment his expression becomes detached, as he doesn't see Hisoka but what's going on in his own head, relaxing a little further into the chair.]

Even if the truth is that it was a lie. Strange how circumstance alters them both, and makes them change places every now and then. Aligned, if not necessarily balanced.

[chrollo come back to reality you have a guest]

[He chuckles, closing his eyes for a moment.]

That's all you're going to say? So you don't want my help? It could be fun, working together.

[A shot taken, a joke about working together when they once DID work together in a way. Though like before Hisoka shows his interest in just Chrollo, only him, rather than his whole Troupe. It had always been like that though.]

I wonder... from who did you hear this rumour? One that led you all the way out here, alone...

If it was a rumor meant to drag me out here to meet some unfortunate end, then they could have done better.

[he seems unconcerned about the prospect, but since when did Chrollo put much stake in the threat of death? since when was it something to fear, rather than accept? never. the frown on his face is only slight, gone as he comes back to the present rather than the abstract.]

Now, I never said I didn't want your help, though. I more assumed you had some goal that wasn't chasing after weird stories.

[Just a smile at that. No answer. If it was him to started such a thing, he's not going to say. After all, you're here, right?]

Weird stories? Oh no, I quite like weird stories. They usually lead to something spectacular.

[After all, YOU were a weird story once, and he smiles at the thought. Back when Chrollo was just a rumour, when the troupe was... and yet just hearing about it had made him so excited. That story set in all in motion. Years of tracking, and then planning to become a part of them, planning to betray them just for that moment... for that bright, powerful young man.]

Not that I ever read.

[Buuut he follows it with a joke. All that thinking wasn't doing him any good. If he gets too excited in here... he won't be able to control himself.]

You don't know what you're missing. A good book...little can compare.

[despite himself, there's a faint quirk of his lips up. taking the joke and going with it. Hisoka might read, if the whim struck him, the same way Chrollo lives by his choices, his interests. but the stories Hisoka prefers are flesh and blood, aren't they? something to take hold of, seize and personalize in a way that ink and paper could never survive. perhaps that nothing could survive.]

Though I should ask, are you offering your help to me in chasing this down?

Maybe I just need to be shown the right book then. You could recommend me something?

[Said with a coy tone as he leans in a little. It's true he may very well read a book if it struck him. And while he mostly cared about people and their own personal stories and strengths, rather than items or things. If the book appealed enough, if it took advantage of his interest in those stories and fantasies, maybe he truly could see things from Chrollo's perspective.]

[But for now... for now he's far more interested in the man who loves books, rather than the books that inspired such an adoration.]

Would you accept such an offer, if I was? It could be fun... though I might find myself getting a little worked up.

I'm sure you'd be able to deal with it somehow, if you were offering.

[whatever dealing with it would mean. it doesn't seem to be too much of a bother to Chrollo - in reality, he was considering how to accommodate that. it was the price of dealing with Hisoka, really. there are advantages to working with someone else, and drawbacks. favorable outcomes to both, and many ways it could go wrong. choices branching out again and again until the end, just one route and a thousand nigh ones.

the wind howls outside and he shifts, pulling his coat a little closer. being cold isn't a problem, only another thing to deal with.]

And you aren't completely unused to listening to my orders.

Perhaps I am then. It could be a good test of restraint.

[Said playfully now as he gets up. Restraint, right... though he did do pretty good at it, except for those moments alone where he needed to calm himself the fuck down.]

[He gets up and very obviously moves to get closer and sit right next to where Chrollo is on his bench, a flickering candle nearby. He sits right next to him and could very well shudder at the feeling but he's curious about how the man will act as he gets this close.]

I'm not, am I? I like listening to you, a worthy leader by far. [He chuckles, turning his head and tucking his chin in near his shoulder as he stares at him.]</smalL. Are you cold? Boss~?

[Hisoka moves, and for three heartbeats, Chrollo is very still, watching him. then he breathes again, and he decides to accommodate this. by reducing the distance between them, Hisoka's made it nigh impossible to ignore his presence by any stretch of the imagination. it's a clever move if he wants to keep Chrollo's attention.]

It's chilly.

[obviously. it's snowing outside and this isn't the most insulated place. but he'll manage, he's been in worse places than this, and his complaining about it has so far been kept in his head alone. cold, that he can stand over rain. somehow it's less uncomfortable, even as it sets into his joints and makes his reaction times that fraction of a second slower.]

But if perhaps you're offering, perhaps I might be accepting.

[just like that. a decision made, having been considered and his interest falling more on the side of yes rather than no.]

[Mn... what a heavy gaze on him. Is he curious then? On guard? He wonders what's going through that head as he gets them closer, near touching their thighs together on the outsides as he sits close and looks over to him.]

It is... I'm so cold.

[He pouts a little in faux discomfort, teasing shifting his fingers to dare and touch at Chrollo's side. It's brief though, the little touch enough to make him shiver and closer his eyes before turning his head to face forward instead now.]

Mn... consider it that then. An offer. Do you accept?

Hmm.

[the answer is noncommittal, making Hisoka wait on his answer. but it had really been decided before Hisoka even moved over to his side, and the answer's withheld simply because. because Chrollo feels like it, because it's related to that restraint he talked about, because it was amusing.

don't think he doesn't notice you touching him, Hisoka. if they were on different terms Chrollo might have suggested the two of them sit close anyway, huddling a little to conserve heat. but not you. not this very instant, at least, will the suggestion come from him.]

I do accept. We can work together again.

winter is a lingering season

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