[ emma scoffs as she gets up from her chair, carrying her plate back to the kitchen. ]
Joshua Faraday, a gentleman?
[ after she sets aside her dishes, she leans against her counter, arms crossing over her chest. the hat is a bit too big for her, so she has to push the brim up again, but she hardly seems to mind, a smile still in the corners of her lips. ]
Seems like you delight in tellin' all sorts of half-truths just as much as I do heaping these "troubles" on an ill-treated man such as yourself. What a difficult life you lead, truly.
[ The corner of his mouth quirks upward as his hat threatens to tip down in front of her face, even as he tries to maintain that flat, innocent look. He leans back, tipping the chair slightly on its back two legs, his arm resting on the back of his chair as she regards him. ]
Now you're just slingin' mud. Those are patent falsehoods, Emma Cullen. Bald-faced lies.
And I certainly don't see you treatin' any other folks the way you treat me. It's on account of my open, trustin' face, ain't it? Makes you think you can take such terrible advantage of my good nature.
You're as good-natured as a soakin' wet cat, Faraday — and you're caterwaulin' just the same.
[ she shakes her head, and the hat slips down again; she pushes it up with a small huff, peering out at him from under the brim. ]
Maybe I don't treat folks the same because I don't like them half as much as you. Or maybe I just enjoy seein' you sulk so magnificently.
[ probably a little of both, honestly. it takes a lot to get emma to tease someone like this, for her to be comfortable enough trading the friendly insults. she enjoys verbal sparring otherwise, of course, but this? this has a certain fondness to it that's been reserved near exclusively for faraday.
and she also gets a great deal of joy out of the dramatic expressions she drags out of him, to boot. ]
[ Speaking of dramatic expressions, he trots out another one of those pinched sort of looks, eyebrows knitting together and nose wrinkling. He flicks a card at her with surprising precision. ]
I do not sulk.
[ he says, sulkily, while sulking. ]
You got a funny way of showin' a man your fondness.
[ emma has more than enough practice keeping her expression composed, fortunately for her, because otherwise, she'd likely be in stitches over the look on faraday's face. ]
And how exactly would you prefer I demonstrate instead?
[ she goes to pick up the card he flicked at her, but doesn't bring it back to him.
[ emma looks like she's considering it for a moment, rubbing her chin slightly in contemplation. ]
I reckon I could do that.
[ she pushes away from the counter, stepping up to faraday in the chair. she stands beside him, pulling the hat off of her head to set it lightly on his own — but instead of cocking it or yanking it over his eyes, she just delicately straightens it out. ]
[ As she approaches, his eyes immediately glitter with suspicion, and he leans back a little. ]
Now, Emma—
[ Warning in his voice, because he clearly expects more of the same from earlier – except he’s pleasantly surprised when she merely settles it on his head, fixes it in its usual way. He looks up at her, some wry comment – “See how simple that was?” – on the tip of his tongue, except—
It occurs to him, right then, how close she is, and he realizes how close she ventured these days, now that a quick brush of his hand wouldn’t fill her to the gills with ice. And how odd that was, given their rocky start, when she had glared daggers at him in the light of a flickering fire, and he merely smirked in reply. She had hated him then, he’s reasonably sure. Not so much, these days, and for a man who had once prided himself on not giving a damn what others thought of him, he finds he’s oddly glad for it.
Death had a funny way of fixing things.
He clears his throat (an unnecessary gesture, but habit has him doing it, all the same), and lifts a hand to the front of his hat, adjusting the brim minutely. ]
I should hope so. [ He says it lightly, eyes flicking down to her stomach; holding her gaze, looking up at her face, made something tighten and flare in his chest – something he didn’t have a name for.
[ emma leans her hip against the table, crossing her arms over her chest with a slightly exasperated scoff. ]
Suits you? Rather it hides that self-satisfied look you wear so well.
[ things have changed with faraday — but so steadily that emma hardly pays it any mind to how effortlessly she stands near him now, how unbothered she tends to be by the moments of contact, how half-hearted even her annoyance with the man comes out. certainly, that irksome behavior hasn't vanished, and faraday is just as capable of the obnoxious antics that before would've inspired icy disdain from emma, but...
it's different now.
she's not sure when or how she'd become fond of the gambler, but the months and months that he'd spent in her home, by her side, had softened her to him — had made him important.
probably why the idea of him up and disappearing bothers her so terribly now. ]
And I think I could do with a touch less of that.
[ teasing. always teasing.
but she reaches to take a card from the deck, intends to just flick it right back at faraday — because she can. ]
[ Faraday’s always been quick on the draw, hands made fast by cards and guns alike. When he spots Emma going for the deck, his hand darts out to reach it first. He scoops it up and holds it high as he leans away. ]
Didn’t anyone tell you? You never touch another man’s prayer book without permission. It’s awful rude.
[ He leans back all the more, stretching his arm overhead and swapping the cards from one hand to the other. He may be sitting, but he still has some height on her, and long arms, to boot. ]
See, now? That lack of faith is exactly the reason why you ain’t touchin’ these. You’ll spoil ‘em.
Bad enough you already swiped away one of my cards earlier. I’m gonna have to resanctify it ‘fore I put it back in the deck.
[ The one she had so cruelly confiscated after he flicked it at her. ]
[ the difference in height and arm length doesn't stop emma from reaching anyway, and she just looks down at faraday with a huff. ]
Wouldn't you think I've touched them far often enough that any "spoiling" that's meant to occur already has?
[ because she already spends a great deal of time with those cards — though the one she's confiscated is staying in the pocket of her dress (for now. mostly just to mess with him). ]
Yeah, but you weren’t goin’ off at the mouth with that nonsense of yours before. Speakin’ it aloud is what jinxes it.
[ Faraday is also completely making this up as he goes, but he’s used to bullshitting, used to spouting off whatever first comes to mind as a distraction tactic. Sometimes, it works. Other times, it doesn’t. But it never stops him from trying, either way. ]
It’s like how puttin’ down a hat ain’t so bad, but settin’ it down on a bed drains out all the luck.
[ the same stories is how he intended to finish that, except Emma lashes a hand out, and Faraday interrupts himself with a quiet hup as he snaps his hand up high, keeping it just out of reach. ]
Nice try. [ He grins, triumphant. ] You’re fast, Emma Cullen. That, I'll grant. But you ain’t as fast as me.
[ emma is absolutely not sulking over the near miss. absolutely not even a bit, but she's still a touch huffy as she braces her hand on the back of faraday's chair to keep her balance, glancing from his smug grin and back to the cards then down again. ]
I'd thought perhaps dyin' might have given me some kind of advantage over you. Suppose it's just my luck your reflexes are what they always were.
[ which is, to say, incredibly impressive.
...and with her hand bracing on the back of his chair, she tries to stretch again and reach — because emma cullen is nothing if not determined (and competitive as all hell). ]
[ His grin turns from triumphant to amused as she mopes – and isn't that a wonder, to see such a serious, determined woman brood so terribly. He doubts he would have ever seen this side to her in life, but he's glad for the opportunity now.
There's a teasing lilt to his voice when he parrots back, ]
It's such a treat, watchin' you sulk so magnificently.
[ Though the moment is short-lived, as she's gamely snatching for the cards again. He keeps it away, reflexes sharp and hands fast and arms long, and she leans against him and the chair—
and tips it back.
And he has only time enough to yelp as they all go tumbling backward.
[ emma doesn't even have time for a smart remark, because before she realizes what's going on, the chair has given up the proverbial ghost and the rest of its precarious balance.
...taking emma and faraday along with it.
thanks to leaning on faraday like that, she can't get her feet back under herself in time before she's falling to the ground with a short, startled cry, and she just lands smack against his chest. ]
—oof!
[ it knocks the wind out of her for a moment, long enough for her to just lay there on the floor, blinking wide eyes at faraday, her torso pressed to his, and she's very quickly realizing this is much closer than they tend to get.
she'll stand right beside him, certainly. sit with him close enough that their hips could nearly touch. brush her hand over his arm or give him a well-timed prod, but— this is a whole new level of being up against faraday, and it makes her stomach flutter and her heart pound and that's...oh lord. ]
[ Faraday doesn't have much time to react either. He probably could've blinked himself away to avoid the fall, but the ability doesn't come quite so naturally. His instinct instead has him dropping the deck to wrap his arms around Emma's waist, keeping her in place so he can take the brunt of the fall.
Which he does, and if he had breath in his lungs, the landing would've driven it from him. As it is, he feels his back meet the wood of the floor, has a brief moment where he thinks he sees stars. It hadn't hurt, thank God, but it was enough to daze him.
After a few seconds, once he has his wits about him again, ]
You really wanted those cards, huh?
[ He says it with a bit of a laugh, one hand still pressed lightly on her back, the other touching the back of his head by reflex. Stupid, in retrospect, but he's still not entirely used to being mostly dead, yet. A half-second of prodding is enough to remind him he'll find no bumps, no blood, and he chuckles at himself, slightly self-conscious.
Faraday looks to Emma, still not quite realizing the compromising position they're in, and looks her over with some concern. ]
[ she clears her throat, finally managing to push herself up on her hands. she's still hovering over him, hasn't quite managed to convince her body to get off of the floor, but she's not pressed so completely to faraday, which makes it...slightly better?
she still, unfortunately, feels a touch flustered, and she certainly hopes it doesn't reflect in the color of her cheeks. ]
I'm just fine.
[ she hadn't been the one to hit the ground, after all, and faraday had taken the brunt of the fall; she's mostly startled, a little out of breath, and still trying to gather up the resolve to pry herself away from the man.
her hair falls over her shoulder, and she reaches up to tuck it behind her ear, keep it out of faraday's own face. ]
If you'd just let me have 'em, this whole thing would've been avoided.
[ there's not exactly any malice or anger in her voice; she's not bothered by the fact that they fell, if she's honest, but still feels uncertain about how damn close they are.
Or, you could'a' just conceded that I was clearly the winner in that exchange.
[ Which wasn't much of a revelation, all things considered, up to and including the reason for their meeting in the first place.
The cards in question have scattered across the floor, and he casts them only a brief, annoyed glance, before he goes right back to ignoring them. They'll clean up the mess in a few seconds, but Faraday is in no rush.
He looks her over again, and he thinks he sees a hint of color in her cheeks, thinks he senses a bit of agitation in her words. Embarrassment, maybe for toppling them over like a rickety bridge. He grins, waggling his eyebrows. ]
[ emma meets his grin with narrowing eyes, balancing herself on one hand with her other elbow resting on his chest to point a semi-threatening finger in his face. ]
I am not a sore loser, Joshua Faraday.
[ (except she absolutely is.)
her seriousness is probably belied by the flush of face, the unruliness of her hair, and also the fact that she's still leaning over him like this. ]
And as I had not given up, clearly you hadn't yet won.
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[ emma scoffs as she gets up from her chair, carrying her plate back to the kitchen. ]
Joshua Faraday, a gentleman?
[ after she sets aside her dishes, she leans against her counter, arms crossing over her chest. the hat is a bit too big for her, so she has to push the brim up again, but she hardly seems to mind, a smile still in the corners of her lips. ]
Seems like you delight in tellin' all sorts of half-truths just as much as I do heaping these "troubles" on an ill-treated man such as yourself. What a difficult life you lead, truly.
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Now you're just slingin' mud. Those are patent falsehoods, Emma Cullen. Bald-faced lies.
And I certainly don't see you treatin' any other folks the way you treat me. It's on account of my open, trustin' face, ain't it? Makes you think you can take such terrible advantage of my good nature.
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You're as good-natured as a soakin' wet cat, Faraday — and you're caterwaulin' just the same.
[ she shakes her head, and the hat slips down again; she pushes it up with a small huff, peering out at him from under the brim. ]
Maybe I don't treat folks the same because I don't like them half as much as you. Or maybe I just enjoy seein' you sulk so magnificently.
[ probably a little of both, honestly. it takes a lot to get emma to tease someone like this, for her to be comfortable enough trading the friendly insults. she enjoys verbal sparring otherwise, of course, but this? this has a certain fondness to it that's been reserved near exclusively for faraday.
and she also gets a great deal of joy out of the dramatic expressions she drags out of him, to boot. ]
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I do not sulk.
[ he says, sulkily, while sulking. ]
You got a funny way of showin' a man your fondness.
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And how exactly would you prefer I demonstrate instead?
[ she goes to pick up the card he flicked at her, but doesn't bring it back to him.
the card has definitely been confiscated. ]
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[ He points an accusatory finger at her head, eyes still narrowed. ]
A good start would be bringin' my hat back.
[ because that is his. That is his hat. It belongs on his head. ]
'Sides, it ain't gonna do you much good, anyway, bein' invisible 'n' all.
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I reckon I could do that.
[ she pushes away from the counter, stepping up to faraday in the chair. she stands beside him, pulling the hat off of her head to set it lightly on his own — but instead of cocking it or yanking it over his eyes, she just delicately straightens it out. ]
Fits you far better than it does me, anyway.
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Now, Emma—
[ Warning in his voice, because he clearly expects more of the same from earlier – except he’s pleasantly surprised when she merely settles it on his head, fixes it in its usual way. He looks up at her, some wry comment – “See how simple that was?” – on the tip of his tongue, except—
It occurs to him, right then, how close she is, and he realizes how close she ventured these days, now that a quick brush of his hand wouldn’t fill her to the gills with ice. And how odd that was, given their rocky start, when she had glared daggers at him in the light of a flickering fire, and he merely smirked in reply. She had hated him then, he’s reasonably sure. Not so much, these days, and for a man who had once prided himself on not giving a damn what others thought of him, he finds he’s oddly glad for it.
Death had a funny way of fixing things.
He clears his throat (an unnecessary gesture, but habit has him doing it, all the same), and lifts a hand to the front of his hat, adjusting the brim minutely. ]
I should hope so. [ He says it lightly, eyes flicking down to her stomach; holding her gaze, looking up at her face, made something tighten and flare in his chest – something he didn’t have a name for.
Then, with a smug little smile, ]
Suits me better, too.
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Suits you? Rather it hides that self-satisfied look you wear so well.
[ things have changed with faraday — but so steadily that emma hardly pays it any mind to how effortlessly she stands near him now, how unbothered she tends to be by the moments of contact, how half-hearted even her annoyance with the man comes out. certainly, that irksome behavior hasn't vanished, and faraday is just as capable of the obnoxious antics that before would've inspired icy disdain from emma, but...
it's different now.
she's not sure when or how she'd become fond of the gambler, but the months and months that he'd spent in her home, by her side, had softened her to him — had made him important.
probably why the idea of him up and disappearing bothers her so terribly now. ]
And I think I could do with a touch less of that.
[ teasing. always teasing.
but she reaches to take a card from the deck, intends to just flick it right back at faraday — because she can. ]
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Didn’t anyone tell you? You never touch another man’s prayer book without permission. It’s awful rude.
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While I am more than aware you worship at the altar of gambling, Faraday, I hardly think that makes your cards any means of holy.
[ ...and, of course, she tries to lean over and reach them, because emma is hardly one to be so easily deterred. ]
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[ He leans back all the more, stretching his arm overhead and swapping the cards from one hand to the other. He may be sitting, but he still has some height on her, and long arms, to boot. ]
See, now? That lack of faith is exactly the reason why you ain’t touchin’ these. You’ll spoil ‘em.
Bad enough you already swiped away one of my cards earlier. I’m gonna have to resanctify it ‘fore I put it back in the deck.
[ The one she had so cruelly confiscated after he flicked it at her. ]
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Wouldn't you think I've touched them far often enough that any "spoiling" that's meant to occur already has?
[ because she already spends a great deal of time with those cards — though the one she's confiscated is staying in the pocket of her dress (for now. mostly just to mess with him). ]
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[ Faraday is also completely making this up as he goes, but he’s used to bullshitting, used to spouting off whatever first comes to mind as a distraction tactic. Sometimes, it works. Other times, it doesn’t. But it never stops him from trying, either way. ]
It’s like how puttin’ down a hat ain’t so bad, but settin’ it down on a bed drains out all the luck.
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Then maybe I oughta be settin' your hat on my bed, if I'm apparently goin' to jinx something of yours.
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[ Even if it seems she's stopped grabbing for the cards, he still keeps his posture slightly twisted, arm held back, though not quite as high. ]
'S your bed, after all.
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[ 3...2...1...
she only eyes the cards for a second, but then she's leaning over faraday, hand snapping out to reach for the deck one more time.
she's not entirely expecting to get it (because, damn it, the man is fast), but she at least has to make an effort. ]
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[ the same stories is how he intended to finish that, except Emma lashes a hand out, and Faraday interrupts himself with a quiet hup as he snaps his hand up high, keeping it just out of reach. ]
Nice try. [ He grins, triumphant. ] You’re fast, Emma Cullen. That, I'll grant. But you ain’t as fast as me.
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I'd thought perhaps dyin' might have given me some kind of advantage over you. Suppose it's just my luck your reflexes are what they always were.
[ which is, to say, incredibly impressive.
...and with her hand bracing on the back of his chair, she tries to stretch again and reach — because emma cullen is nothing if not determined (and competitive as all hell). ]
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There's a teasing lilt to his voice when he parrots back, ]
It's such a treat, watchin' you sulk so magnificently.
[ Though the moment is short-lived, as she's gamely snatching for the cards again. He keeps it away, reflexes sharp and hands fast and arms long, and she leans against him and the chair—
and tips it back.
And he has only time enough to yelp as they all go tumbling backward.
Whoops. ]
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...taking emma and faraday along with it.
thanks to leaning on faraday like that, she can't get her feet back under herself in time before she's falling to the ground with a short, startled cry, and she just lands smack against his chest. ]
—oof!
[ it knocks the wind out of her for a moment, long enough for her to just lay there on the floor, blinking wide eyes at faraday, her torso pressed to his, and she's very quickly realizing this is much closer than they tend to get.
she'll stand right beside him, certainly. sit with him close enough that their hips could nearly touch. brush her hand over his arm or give him a well-timed prod, but— this is a whole new level of being up against faraday, and it makes her stomach flutter and her heart pound and that's...oh lord. ]
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Which he does, and if he had breath in his lungs, the landing would've driven it from him. As it is, he feels his back meet the wood of the floor, has a brief moment where he thinks he sees stars. It hadn't hurt, thank God, but it was enough to daze him.
After a few seconds, once he has his wits about him again, ]
You really wanted those cards, huh?
[ He says it with a bit of a laugh, one hand still pressed lightly on her back, the other touching the back of his head by reflex. Stupid, in retrospect, but he's still not entirely used to being mostly dead, yet. A half-second of prodding is enough to remind him he'll find no bumps, no blood, and he chuckles at himself, slightly self-conscious.
Faraday looks to Emma, still not quite realizing the compromising position they're in, and looks her over with some concern. ]
Alright?
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[ she clears her throat, finally managing to push herself up on her hands. she's still hovering over him, hasn't quite managed to convince her body to get off of the floor, but she's not pressed so completely to faraday, which makes it...slightly better?
she still, unfortunately, feels a touch flustered, and she certainly hopes it doesn't reflect in the color of her cheeks. ]
I'm just fine.
[ she hadn't been the one to hit the ground, after all, and faraday had taken the brunt of the fall; she's mostly startled, a little out of breath, and still trying to gather up the resolve to pry herself away from the man.
her hair falls over her shoulder, and she reaches up to tuck it behind her ear, keep it out of faraday's own face. ]
If you'd just let me have 'em, this whole thing would've been avoided.
[ there's not exactly any malice or anger in her voice; she's not bothered by the fact that they fell, if she's honest, but still feels uncertain about how damn close they are.
new and strange, is what it is. ]
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[ Which wasn't much of a revelation, all things considered, up to and including the reason for their meeting in the first place.
The cards in question have scattered across the floor, and he casts them only a brief, annoyed glance, before he goes right back to ignoring them. They'll clean up the mess in a few seconds, but Faraday is in no rush.
He looks her over again, and he thinks he sees a hint of color in her cheeks, thinks he senses a bit of agitation in her words. Embarrassment, maybe for toppling them over like a rickety bridge. He grins, waggling his eyebrows. ]
Seems to me you take losin' awful poorly.
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I am not a sore loser, Joshua Faraday.
[ (except she absolutely is.)
her seriousness is probably belied by the flush of face, the unruliness of her hair, and also the fact that she's still leaning over him like this. ]
And as I had not given up, clearly you hadn't yet won.
[ because that's absolutely how it works. ]
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