Make my way back home

[palehornedprince]

Their foray into the Vile Peaks had been fruitful and frustrating at the same time. Yylfordt had got the time the day after their encounter with the stupidly overpowered-for-what-it-was Hollow to go and mooch among the old ruins left there. He'd wanted to bring back a lot more than he'd been able to, in the end, partly because of the bulk of things. He'd got some very flat looks when he'd suggested just leaving some people behind so there was more room on the Ragnarok; fortunately, they'd known he was joking.

Or had thought he was, anyway.

They'd brought back what they could, and Even and his scary Aeon level ice powers had gone off to his laboratory, and Nel had gone back to doing whatever she did all day, and Yylfordt, Apache, Tayuya, Kadaj, and Grimmjow had been left to their usual devices again.

They'd got bored after two days, and Yylfordt had got round to wiring up their coffee machine. He'd been tempted to just steal it and wire it up in his workshop and then lord it over Szayel that he had one, but he hadn't wanted to annoy Apache and Grimmjow any more than he usually did by existing, so he was working on connecting in to the Palace's electrics, and running a cable to the Sunhouse.

Which was about when he'd decided he could really do with some more insulated wire, and connector pins, and another socket adapter wouldn't go amiss, really. He had things, of course, he was Al Bhed, he'd never not have things. But that was why he needed more things, because if he used these things then he'd be running low, and something about machina and the associated gidgets and gadgets brought out the hoarder in him. He could never allow himself to get down to his last thing, because then what if he needed to use that, and ended up with no things?

He'd got some funny looks when he'd tried to explain his reasoning for wanting to trip into Rabanastre, just to pick up some basics, even though he already had the basics. It was only Rabanastre, and it would only be a day. They'd proven they could go out and come back without getting in trouble. Anyway Nel had apparently told Aizen she'd been impressed with Grimmjow's leadership ability while she was out with them.

They'd been allowed to go to Rabanastre. It was only a short hop of a journey, a shorter hop than Nel usually made to get groceries, which was probably some of the reason they'd been allowed to make it. The Arrancar overall were being given that little bit more freedom, one outing at a time.

The girls had come, because Tayuya and Apache jumped at any chance to get out. Yylfordt had, if he was honest, taken a bit of pride in showing Apache around the Al Bhed quarter. Then he'd burned with jealousy when he'd seen Kadaj give an absently friendly wave to a cute Al Bhed girl in folded down dungarees and a bra, working in the Rockbell repair shop, and getting it returned cheerily. He'd been even more jealous when Kadaj, after being asked, had said simply that she was Winry, which caused a minor meltdown on Yylfordt's part.

He'd not been allowed to backtrack and talk to her, though, as much as he'd wanted to. Kadaj had refused to take him back and introduce him, too, on the grounds that they weren't here for long enough for Yylfordt to fanboy the Rockbells.

"Bro, can't we just--?" He asked again, as they were leaving. The intention was to get something to eat, but Rabanastre Al Bhed food was a little too authentic for some. You had to go to the peripheries if you wanted something everyone found palatable, funny as it would be to try and get Kadaj or Apache to try Desert Oysters.

Comments

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt glared at Saix as he approached Apache, and he could hear what he was saying, and see the way her cheeks coloured, and she grinned as he spoke to her.

Then the total bastard had the audacity to look at him, to make eye contact with him before saying that.

He snarled and hauled forward, fist ready to go. He was going to rearrange that bastard's fucking face.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow saw exactly what Yylfordt was about to do and stepped in, grabbing his arm and yanking him back to stop him causing an actual fight.

Without his mask out, Grimmjow was still stronger than Yylfordt and holding him fast to stop him going for the berserker wasn't too difficult, not for him, but he knew he was going to be pissed off.

If he hadn't been trying so hard to stop him starting a brawl, he would have stopped to find it funny that Yylfordt, in one conversation, had both insulted Apache and sought to defend her honour.

[cierva]

Apache stared at Yylfordt, startled at the interrupted smack he would have tried to give Saix. She hadn't reacted as fast as Grimmjow, but when the shock had worn off she glared at him.

How dare he try that shit? He hadn't even done anything.

[gotitmemorised]

Lea looked surprised that Kadaj had introduced the blue-haired one, Grimmjow, as his boyfriend. After how the last fight had gone, he'd been sure that he was with the angry pink-haired girl.

He opened his mouth to speak when he heard the scuffing of shoes on stone from the other group. He looked over, eyes a little wide, to see Grimmjow holding back the Al Bhed guy to stop him hitting Saix.

He glanced at Kadaj and Tayuya, slightly confused.

As far as he knew, the fight between the groups was mostly between Saix and Grimmjow these days.

[innatelunacy]

Saix had expected there might be some form of retaliation. He'd expected the Al Bhed to try and hit him, even, or draw his sword. Apparently he'd been too angry to remember his sword.

Saix had also wondered if Grimmjow would intercept any attack that might come. He was glad to find that he had. It suggested that Saix was right; their fight these days was more about the entertainment value, and it stopped being entertaining when it became one sided, or put their friends at risk.

He looked at Grimmjow. He wasn't good at expressing gratitude, but it was there in his expression anyway. He blinked to turn his gaze to Yylfordt instead.

"You'll find women are more impressed with dinner and flowers than insults. If you want to act this jealous, I suggest you start with an apology and work your way up," he said. Then he cast another smirk at Apache, "Assuming he has better taste than he claims."

[palehornedprince]

"E's kuhhy bihlr rec vyla drnuikr du dra udran ceta uv rec vilgehk cgimm," Yylfordt snarled, trying unsuccessfully to break out of Grimmjow's grip.

Saix was pissing him off, in grand style. Especially that smug superior bastard thing he had going on. That was infuriating as fuck.

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj looked over as Grimmjow grabbed Yylfordt. He inwardly thought that Saix had a good point. Yylfordt got jealous, really, really jealous, which was something Kadaj was more familiar with than he was willing to let on. Unfortunately, Yylfordt was really stupid about being jealous.

He sighed, his shoulders falling with the movement. "So much for that truce," he said, quietly.

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith looked up at the sound of a fight being prevented. What Saix said next, however, made things a little bit clearer.

"Saix," she called, her tone a little bit scolding, "stop aggravating him."

It was like finding a child that had found a stick to poke another child with. Sooner or later, the pokee was going to haul off and lamp someone.

[soundfivebitch]

Tayuya looked at where a fight had failed to break out. She had to admit, she didn't think she'd ever witness Grimmjow holding Yylfordt back from thumping the berserker. On the other hand, the berserker could go toe to toe with Grimmjow, which meant he could probably murder Yylfordt without breaking a sweat.

She rolled her eyes. "Even the fucking berserker can see it," she muttered. Why the fuck Yylfordt insisted on denying he liked Apache, she really did not know.

[gotitmemorised]

"Uh... does this happen a lot?" Lea asked, looking down at Tayuya when she spoke.

It looked obvious to him that the Al Bhed guy was seriously jealous of the fact that the girl had, at some point unknown to him, slept with Saix. The fact that Saix seemed to be winding him up by imparting basic dating advice meant that the jealousy, while there, and evidently burning with the sort of ferocity that even he would struggle to match, was not being acted upon in any sort of productive way.

[raindownhell]

Fang did little but stare at the would-be scuffle that had broken out. For all the blue-haired guys were hyped up to be enemies, one of them seemed to be stopping somebody else hitting the other. That was fun.

At least a small fight over a girl wouldn't call the guards over.

[jawmask]

"No you're not," Grimmjow said, shoving Yylfordt away from Saix.

He rolled his eyes at his friend's behaviour, but managed to resist the snort he wanted to voice at Saix's unsolicited dating advice. It took every ounce of strength to stop himself pointing out that they'd already told him this, but that the advice didn't want to stick. No, instead Yylfordt thought that insulting her for minor infractions against his weird sense of right and wrong and doing absolutely nothing in the dating department was the way forward.

[soundfivebitch]

"Moocow being a dickhead?" Tayuya asked, before she glanced at Lea out of the corner of her eye. "Every fucking day."

That wasn't exactly what he was asking, though, and she knew it, which was why she shrugged and added, "Him being this kind of dickhead though? Only with Apache. He's really bad at pretending not to have a humongous fucking crush on her, but he flirts like a fucking six year old." Complete with metaphorical hair pulling, and literal namecalling, he'd stopped short of stone throwing, but it was only a matter of time.

[innatelunacy]

Saix glanced at Aerith when she told him off, but he couldn't wipte the smug smirk off his face. Yylfordt was easy to aggravate, and if he thought that using that kind of language about someone was the way to their heart then he clearly needed aggravating.

He turned to Apache, maintaining a trace of that smirk as he told her, "I could help hold him down if you'd like?"

More quietly, he added, "You're worth better than him." Something about Apache's reactions so far suggested to Saix that, if Yylfordt was capable of making an actual advance on her without dissolving into judgemental profanity, she wouldn't reject him. Given the way he was behaving right now, she must really, really like him to continue to associate with him at all.

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt stumbled backwards a couple of steps when Grimmjow shoved him. Grimmjow was strong, even without the mask, and he wasn't being particularly patient right now, either.

Then Saix spoke, pissing Yylfordt off again. He snarled, watching the berserker get close enough to murmur in Apache's ear. He'd got what he wanted from her, none of the rest of anything had anything to do with him.

"You stay the fuck out of this," he snapped, advancing towards Saix again. "Go find some other cheap tart to cosy up to."

[cierva]

Apache smiled at what Saix said, half amused by his offer of help and flattered by the second part. However, when Yylfordt took it upon himself to snap at Saix, she decided she'd had enough.

When he insulted her, she snapped.

Without thinking, without pausing to consider the guards or interference from either Grimmjow or any of the others, she turned and cut off Yylfordt's advance, pausing only long enough to ball her fist.

She didn't care that he was supposed to be her friend, or ally, or even her boss, she was sick of his shit. With gritted teeth she swung for him, aiming to punch him square in the mouth.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow, surprised by Apache being the one to smack Yylfordt, didn't move. He watched as she hauled off and hit him, half shocked that she'd do that and half amazed that it had taken her this long.

"Uh..."

[gotitmemorised]

Lea stared as the girl, Apache, smacked, um, 'Moocow'. He'd more than expected any fight to break out between Tayuya and somebody else, or between Grimmjow and Saix, he hadn't, for one second, envisioned that any blows would be dealt between members of the same side.

"... so is that her flirting back now, or what?" He asked, half unsure.

[innatelunacy]

Saix had seen the second advance coming, and he'd been preparing to make a brief scuffle of it. Yylfordt was someone that needed to learn how to talk to women, and Saix was perfectly prepared to give him a starter lesson that included a face full of Rabanastre dirt.

Apache got there first. Saix watched her with wide eyes, before his expression broke into a smile and he clapped, slowly.

That was much more like it.

[palehornedprince]

Yylfordt hadn't anticipated Apache's interception. Her fist landed in his face, and it hurt. For a little girl she punched like running into a brick wall.

He yelped, and backed up, holding his hands over his mouth and nose, which now hurt so much they were weirdly numb. The shock overtook his anger, for the time being.

"The fuck was that for?" He asked, from behind his hands, staring at Apache.

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith winced when Apache hit the Al Bhed. It sounded painful, and it had certainly worked to stop him in his tracks.

Then she snapped around to look at Lea. "Don't you start," she scolded, smacking him in the arm with the back of her hand. Saix was being bad enough doing a slow clap of appreciation.

She thought about offering to heal the Al Bhed, but decided to let him take the fall out of his own stupidity instead. At least for a little while, anyway.

[joinmyreunion]

Kadaj winced when Apache punched Yylfordt. It had been long overdue, but it was still going to make the journey back tense. He really wished Yylfordt wouldn't wind Apache up; that would solve a lot of problems, but he did it to get a reaction out of her.

It was amazing she hadn't reacted like this before today, with some of the things he said.

"That's her speaking the only language he actually understands," Kadaj said, distantly, in response to Lea. He could speak two, of course, but things only seemed to sink in if they involved violence,

[soundfivebitch]

"Hit him again!" Tayuya shouted, clearly enjoying this. Yylfordt had earned an asskicking with the way he'd been the when he'd first found out Apache had slept with someone other than him. Now he was just being a twat for the sake of it, to deliberately try and upset people.

That had to be why he was talking like that, because surely he hadn't expected Apache to be anything other than seriously pissed off with him for calling her a cheap tart.

[cierva]

Apache glared at Yylfordt, eyes narrowed, expression livid. She gritted her teeth at him, the bridge of her nose wrinkled in a scowl, clearly furious.

"You know that it was fucking for," she snapped, her fist still balled. "Cheap tart? Don't think nobody has told me what 'cmid' means, either. You carry on talkin' shit about me and you'll get the same again."

She didn't look like she was making idle or empty threats. Instead, she looked rather like she was daring him to say something else, just to give her the excuse she needed.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow looked between Yylfordt and Apache, and then to Saix. Part of him wanted her to hit him again, just to make the message sink in, but the rest of him knew that an argument between them was likely to not only make the journey home awkward, but it was probably also going to last until after they got back home.

On the upside, Aizen couldn't give any of them a bollocking for causing trouble with the Ryoka group. If anything, two of them had stopped Yylfordt going for the berserker. That had to be worth some points, right?

Besides, Grimmjow thought it was high time Apache gave Yylfordt what was coming to him. Yylfordt was his best friend, but he was a dickhead to Apache and his jealousy and lack of willingness to do anything about his obvious and often-denied crush wore at his nerves.