savetheearth | {006} Log: Visiting Hours

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{006} Log: Visiting Hours

Who: Misa and YOU
What: At the wrong place at the wrong time, Misa was bitten by a now vampiric Stefan and had a good deal of blood drained. She survives thanks to a blood transfusion and timely care, but spends a few days recovering in the hospital. Come visit her!
When: April 21-26
Where: NTT Medical Center Tokyo

It has been a rough week for Misa. There was the fallout from the Kappa rampaging, the Parliament meetings, all the unpleasant encounters that inviting a host of guests into your one-bedroom apartment brings. One person she has been crushing on has turned out to be dating a man, and the other person to capture her romantic attentions has now attempted to kill her.

Now seems as good a time as any for the end of the world.

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It is utterly surreal receiving dating advice from Lazarus, especially considering recent developments. He might not be wrong, but Misa still doesn't like the advice.

"I don't do casual dating. Either it's serious and worth pursuing or it isn't," she says firmly. Love is not something she believes in taking halfway. "I know who I am. But... It looks like I won't be dating anyone for a long while anyway."

"Well, that's OK, too. Ultimately, it is your choice, and even if we're all kind of figuring out who we are, you know yourself better than anyone. Why do you want to date someone? Are you lonely, is it your libido? Because there are some clever and reliable devices on the market..."

"It's not that!!" Misa yells, swatting at him admonishingly. "Doesn't everyone want to find their special someone and be in love?"

He flinches, both at the shout and the swat. Every time he gets this type of reaction out of her, he seems genuinely surprised.

"I don't know about everyone," he says carefully, holding his hands up defensively. "I think some people are glad just to have some companionship, for a little while. 'Love' seems like... a lot to expect, and a lot of potential for disappointment."

"Well they're missing out," she insists sourly. Misa may have been burned by love (or something like it) quite a few times recently, but that doesn't keep her from expecting to have it in her life again. Everyone deserves that, don't they?

"I don't want companionship for a little while. I want to love and be loved. Everyone should have that, it isn't so much to expect."

"Maybe..." he allows uncertainly, and it's probably pretty clear that he doesn't seem to consider what he's "missing out" on actually within his reach, whether or not everyone deserves it.

"On paper, anyway, you're in pretty good shape. There's no reason someone wouldn't want to date you. If anyone has a shot at that kind of romance, it's you, and if you don't make it there's definitely no hope for the rest of us."

"On paper...?" she repeats uncertainly, not at all sure what he means by that. She chooses to focus on the more complimentary part of what he said. "I'm sure I'll find it. So will you. If you haven't already, I mean, with Cesar..."

The way he's talking, Lazarus doesn't sound much he like a man who considers himself in love. There's also the small matter of his invitation for a threesome that they have yet to discuss.

"Yes... as in, if you were going down a list of desirable attributes, you tick off most of them," Lazarus says shamelessly. He starts to gesture, as if illustrating his point by indicating Misa's physique, but he seems to reconsider.

"...but I don't. So... it's different. I care deeply for Cesar, have great respect for him, and I'm certainly attracted to him, but I would never ask for so much."

The way he says it is strangely clinical, but Misa will take what flattery she an get, no matter how odd.

"Thanks I guess."

She sighs, very much feeling like the exact wrong person to be giving relationship advice for these two, but she can't let that statement hang in the air unchallenged.

"Don't be ridiculous. And don't sell yourself short," she says commandingly. "Looks aren't everything. If someone like me can fall for you, so can someone like Cesar. You deserve love just as much as I do."

"You're welcome."

It was meant as a compliment, and he's glad that she took it that way. Seemingly, something today has gone right.

"...and you're very kind. But there's a lot you don't know about me, and a lot that Cesar doesn't either. Even if I'm completely honest, there are things that I'm worried about that no amount of information can fully prepare a person for."

"It's just the truth. You don't know everything about me either, you know," she says a tad defensively. "Everyone has some secrets. It doesn't change what I said."

Misa, for example, seems to be the reincarnation of a serial killer. It's hard to imagine that Lazarus's secrets are all that much darker.

"I guess that's true..."

He shifts, still a little uncomfortable and defensive.

"...but there are secrets, and then there are the kinds of problems that make loving someone very difficult. I'm not asking for sympathy, just... trying to have some realistic expectations for my situation."

"You haven't tried to murder me. That gives you a leg up on the competition," Misa says dryly, before looking a bit contrite. "I mean, not that you're in the competition... obviously... there isn't even a competition, really. Just a string of bad decisions."

Lazarus laughs, and the sound is a little over-cheerful, almost to the point of being forced.

"That's also true. For the record, I can't imagine a situation where I'd try to kill you. On purpose, at least."

Maybe it's meant to be a joke, but he looks a little too serious when he says it.

Misa is outright stunned to hear Lazarus laughing like that. She can't tell if it's forced or if she has just never heard a cheerful laugh from him, though this is an odd time to break it out.

"Good to know... same for you. Though... I really don't know if Stefan did it on purpose or not. Maybe you would do the same thing after all."

She stares off into the distance, mind grappling with the question that has been haunting her since she woke up in the hospital: did Stefan get caught in the moment and hurt her by accident, or did he intentionally lure her in with a kiss before striking?

"No, don't think... that. I wouldn't kill you," he says, suddenly noticeably uncomfortable. "I was joking. It was a joke. I try to be a good person, and good people don't..."

He glances sideways, then he rises to his feet.

"Sorry. I should let you rest, I've really stressed you out enough today. Will you be out soon, and if not can I come visit again?"

Misa is mystified as to what she said to provoke that reaction, but her eyebrows knit together when Lazaeus stands and she realizes that she does not want him to leave.

"I know you wouldn't hurt me," she assures him. "I just meant that... Maybe it isn't something that can be controlled by anyone. I don't know. Only Stefan knows that right now."

Maybe an interrogation by Tony will pry out the truth, but Misa would need to hear the truth from Stefan in person to know for sure. Assuming she can still tell when he is lying, anyway.

But right now Lazarus is about to leave, and she doesn't want him to.

"What would you have done if I didn't leave when you invited me for a threesome?" she blurts out, followed hastily by, "not that I would ever do anything else, I can't even believe you said that, what kind of girl do you think I am? ... But what would you have done? You didn't actually mean it, did you?"

"Actually, I think it's very likely he doesn't know," Lazarus says, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck restlessly. "I've known so many Numbered who awakened to a great amount of destructive power before they were necessarily ready for it, and he's probably just as confused as you are. I'll talk to him and see if we can't reach some kind of beneficial solution that works for everyone."

He starts to turn, but the question is the last one he expects to hear, and it catches him more than a little bit off-guard. Some color rises to his cheeks.

"It was a strange moment," he admits. "Sometimes I react to strange situations by saying strange things. It's probably best not to dwell on it."

"Yeah, okay... I won't," Misa says sheepishly. It was a rather odd thing to ask, but the question is just one of many that has been bothering her lately. At least this one has a somewhat satisfactory answer.

"You really don't have to talk to him; it could be dangerous. Let Tony handle it."

"Dangerous?" Lazarus asks, as though that hadn't occurred to him. "I guess... but I'm not afraid. It takes a lot to scare me these days, you know? It'll be fine."

He is preparing to leave now, mind switching gears to this new and necessary course of action.

"Besides, vampires aren't very tempted by me. Ask Shou if you're skeptical."

"You should be afraid! He might bite anyone if he's hungry enough!" Misa insists, mostly out of real concern but partially because she very much does not want these two men interacting. Each one knows embarrassing things involving her that she does not want shared with the other.

"Well then... an even better reason to address it sooner rather than later," he replies. "I don't want this to happen again, do you? ...or is there another reason you don't want me talking to him?" he asks with a raised brow.

"What kind of a question is that?" Misa splutters. One she is not going to answer, for starters. "Just be careful!"

"I'm always careful," he replies, which probably sounds ridiculous coming from a guy who draws trouble the way Lazarus has been known to. "Give me some credit for lasting as long as I have in this crazy world... oh, and feel better," he adds, wanting to part on that sentiment.

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{006} Log: Visiting Hours

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