goldencharms | FOR INFY!!!

--?!

[What. What. Why is he--?

For a moment, Jamil just freezes up entirely rather than return the kiss, wide-eyed and flustered as Kalim presses against him. There's no hood to hide the way he flushes, this time; instead, all he can do is awkwardly clear his throat. Maybe it's time to beat a hasty retreat.....]

I-it's been simmering for a few minutes now, so..... I should probably check on it.

Okay!!

[ Kalim backs away, clearly intending on following him. ]

Let's check.

Right.....

[Maybe he can just..... will himself to stop being red. Or blame it on the chill. Honestly, for someone so concerned about watching inappropriate material on television, Kalim certainly doesn't seem to have any qualms about kissing a friend out of the blue..... Anyone would be shocked, right?

Just..... pretend nothing out of the ordinary happened. It's the simplest way to preserve his dignity. Jamil leads the way back into the kitchen, fishing a spoon out of the drawer to sample soup straight from the pot. No need to worry about poison here, hmmm?]

A little more lemon juice ought to do the trick.

[ he absolutely has not registered what he did. And, indeed, he leans against the counter so he can get a better look at what Jamil is doing—

And of the smells. He really does miss home, sometimes. Nothing’s as delicious as scalding sands cuisine. ]

So, almost ready?

[ he seems to start looking in the general direction he thinks Jamil would’ve put the lemon juice. ]

[It's fine. Everything is fine. This is just..... something Kalim does now, apparently. He's really going to give him a heart attack, one of these days..... How is anyone supposed to just get used to something like this??

Jamil pulls a bottle out of the fridge, carefully pouring and stirring. Should he portion out three servings? Hmmm, probably not; it'll stay hotter longer if he just leaves the rest in the pot. His Submissive will just come get some when he's hungry, right?]

There, it should be ready now. We'll just need to set the table.

I can do that!

[ and he's off, before Jamil can get a protest in edgewise. but if he isn't stopped, he'll set out three placemats.

... even if he does look at the third a little too long. ]

You--

[--really don't have to do that. Sigh. Kalim is already off and away before he can even finish his thought. Even if he wasn't though, would Kalim actually listen? Well, at least he can't hurt himself with silverware and placemats.....

Whatever. He'll just..... ladle out two bowls for them, and set the empty one down once Kalim is done ~~contemplating Jamil's poor life choices~~. ]

Huh...? Is your submissive not gonna join us...?

[ when he notices the two, versus the three settings he put out. and it's more curious than anything else... At least, for now. ]

That's up to him, isn't it? He'll come when he's ready.

[Dinner was practically already ready by the time Kalim showed up to begin with, after all; nothing's stopping the guy. If he prefers to eat alone, that's fine, isn't it? Or far more likely, he'd immediately cottoned onto the fact that they needed a little space to talk. You can't exactly become a thief worth your salt without having a talent for reading people, can you?]

I guess...

[ he tilts his head though, unsure about that. And maybe torn between feeling a little happy, and sad.

because he's like jamil's family here in Duplicity, right...? ]

Ahahaha, yeah, okay. You're definitely right.

Was there ever any doubt? I'm not going to insist he lives on a schedule while we're not being watched.

[Outside of these walls, he'll play the role he's been forced into, however reluctantly it may be. Here, though..... Jamil just wants to be free. He doesn't want to control the Submissive he was forced to hire any more than strictly necessary. How could he consider a stranger family, just because they decided to live together out of convenience? They've barely even known each other a day. A city like this, a system like this..... it doesn't exactly give you much time or opportunity to form a meaningful connection with someone.

Unlike Kalim, he hadn't had the luxury of someone conveniently free to sign a contract with him immediately. All the familiar faces here had prior commitments to honor, Kalim included--and even if they hadn't, most of them he wouldn't want to live with anyway.]

[ Kalim just laughs, and in the meantime, takes his first sip of the soup. his face brightens in an instant-- while it had been fun to get to practice cooking so much... he really missed Jamil's cooking.

It almost felt like home, again, where they could share a meal, and all of his troubles would fade away ]

Ahhh, it's perfect as usual! I really missed eating your cooking...!!

I'm glad to hear it. You won't need to anymore, will you?

[Now that he's here, he'll actually be able to keep an eye on Kalim and his diet again. He'll be able to bring things over, if Kalim doesn't decide to come by on his own initiative--even if it's going to be a real headache, routinely hauling food through a security checkpoint and down an elevator. What good would complaining do, though?

He'll manage. He always does.]

They allowed me to order groceries instead of prepared meals, so I should be able to bring down anything you need, as well.

Eh? Really?? But wouldn't that be really hard for you?

[ he says, another spoonful halfway to his mouth. Jamil cooking again, though... that does sound really tempting.

But he wants to make Jamil something too... ]

Don't worry, I've been getting good deals on ingredients already!!

It's fine. Besides, you three could be using that money for other things, couldn't you? Or at least saving it for emergencies, in case someone gets hurt.

[None of them asked to be here, after all. Why shouldn't they milk this """generosity""" for all it's worth, if they're going to be forcibly held here against their will? If they don't need to worry about the basic necessities of survival, their money can go towards safety and comfort--or, if they're really unlucky, bail or bribes.]

Wouldn't that also apply to you??

[ he doesn't get it, Jamil. you might need to spell it out for him ]

As long as I stay in this building, I don't need to pay for rent or food--and I don't intend to go anywhere, for now. Who am I to refuse such hospitality?

[Is it taking advantage of a charitable offer? Oh, shamelessly. But if they have the money to run this kind of interdimensional kidnapping business, then he doesn't feel even the slightest bit of remorse over letting them bankroll an extra household. If they bankrupt themselves trying to support their captives, and can't sustain their own operations, so much the better!]

Wow! That's so generous of them!

[ Kalim's eyes light up, and then he laughs, the "why" being mostly forgotten for how he can do it. ]

I'm really glad they're treating you that nicely.

FOR INFY!!!

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