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[ They give him a little side glance at the comment about them smiling, chastising. Funnily enough, they don't really mind getting called cute, even if the delivery is sort of corny. Really, though, he brings up their smile every so often that they feel like they need to do it at the right, perfect moment since it's so special to him. That is, if it happens consciously. They suppose they'll cross that bridge when they get to it. ]

Well, no, I haven't seen one. [ Very carefully, they take the picture from him, both bewildered and intrigued by the photograph of themself in front of them. ] It's a little... weird.

[ If their name had been difficult to get used to, their reflection was moreso. It's not jarring anymore like it used to be, but it does feel a strange, looking at themself in a way that isn't an image of their real being, like in a reflection. Even if they change, this picture will always stay the same. That's probably part of the reason humans like photographs. ]

I guess I just haven't seen myself like this before. Frozen in time, sort of.

[ They offer the picture back to him. ]

[ cairngorm, you're getting as cheesy as lupin is...

he looks perfectly pleased with himself, though he's not entirely aware of the complicated feelings going through Cairngorm's mind at the moment. If he was, he'd be even more pleased that he could help them self-actualize a little more in some tiny way. As it stands, he's just happy to show them the fruits of their labor. When they hand it back, he gazes at it for a moment or two more before tucking it away into his breast pocket for safekeeping. ]

Precisely. It's like I said - whatever happens to us and wherever I go, I'll always be able to look at you just the way I am now if I have this. [ he taps the pocket where he just placed the picture. ] It's like a physical memory. Most people take photographs at special events for that reason - to commemorate awards or weddings or things like that.

A physical memory...

[ They guess they hadn't thought of it exactly like that. Not only is it stopped in time, but it's something tangible too. Humans don't have proneness to losing memory the way gems do when they get injured, unless it's a head injury, or so they'd been told. It might be nice to have something physical. Especially if he were to ever disappear... ]

Hm. [ But this is his present, they don't want to use it for themself, especially when they wouldn't be able to take a picture of him with them back home. They just let their gaze linger for a little longer on the camera itself, before shaking their head. ] You're going to take pictures of other people around too, aren't you?

[ he nods at their question, though he also shrugs slightly. ]

Maybe. I don't want to use up all the film too quickly, but I'd at least like some of Minato and Akira, I think.

[ ... Lupin tilts his head a little, trying to puzzle out what the purpose of the question was. Are they jealous? That doesn't seem like them. ]

Why? Did you want to take some?

Well...

[ They trail off, wondering how they should say this, and if they should say this. ]

I can't bring pictures like that home. They'd get destroyed or lost. [ And that would honestly be more painful than just not bringing them in the first place. They seriously can't imagine being able to safeguard a piece of paper in the insanity of their life. ] If you were to disappear from here.. then it would be different.

[ They would still want to see him, is what they're trying to say, in their classic roundabout and never direct way of speaking. Keeping a picture of him here would be okay, they think, because they never do know if today will be the last time they see him in the flesh, even if that's not at the forefront of heir mind every waking second. ]

But it's yours. I gave it to you, so use it however you want.

[ good thing Lupin's gotten very good at reading between the lines of what they're trying to say. He nods again, giving them a smile. Not jealous - just thoughtful, as always. ]

Well, I don't intend on disappearing anytime soon... but I get what you're saying.

[ they didn't state outright that they wanted a picture of him, but they implied it well enough. He picks up the camera and holds it out to them with a light attitude. ]

Here. Go ahead. You look through this viewfinder to see what the image is going to look like, and you press that button to take it. Just make sure to hold it steady, or else the photograph will be blurry. Oh, and tell me when you're going to take it. I want to make sure you get my good side.

[ As usual, he totally gets it. It puts them at ease to be understood easily... that's just part of why they like him so much.

They take the camera from him carefully, nodding as he explains the process to them - they're in a good enough mood right now that they don't even make a face or say something rude to his usual "let everyone know I think I'm handsome" antics. Instead, they just blink a few times, babying the machine like they'll break it in half if they grip it too hard. Then, slowly, they hold it up to their eye to peer at him through it. ]

So... it's like this. [ For some reason, they expected they'd see something really strange when they looked through the machine, but he looks just as he does when they're not looking through it. ] Is this your "good side"?

[ They joke, but as usual, the delivery is so very dry. That's just how their humor is. Anyway, they're being nice and not taking the picture without telling him, even though that would be entertaining maybe. ]

[ thanks for not taking a picture of him mid-expression, cairngorm... except maybe that would be the way to get them to laugh. DAMMIT! ]

Trick question! All of my sides are good sides.

[ it seems Lupin's going to continue applauding his own handsomeness whether or not Cairngorm reacts. Fortunately for everyone, he doesn't strike a cheesy pose - he just sticks his hands in his pockets and smiles for the camera like a proper gentleman. ]

Go on.

[ Of course he would respond with something like that... at least by now they find his antics kind of endearing even if it is annoying on top of it, and thus don't tell him to shut up. That won't stop them from shooting him an unamused glance from over the camera, though.

They take the photo easily enough, the shutter clicking and the flash going off all the same. Even though they already witnessed it work once, they seem mildly surprised when it works again, immediately moving the camera so they can peer at it while the photo comes out. Living in Chroma has made them accustomed to learning new things all the time, but a great majority of the new things they have to learn are conceptual in nature. This is so... physical, they guess. They pull out the photo and place it face down on the table, just as they'd seen, inwardly fascinated by the strangeness of the whole process of photo taking. ]

You can have it back now.

[ it seems like that was all they wanted... they don't hesitate at all to offer the camera back to him. ]

[ on the bright side, them shooting him a dirty look gets him to laugh a little, so it'll probably be a good photo when it develops. Lupin takes the camera back, but just sets it on the table, too, not planning on running around to take more photos just yet. ]

Heh... Look at the two of us. We're a regular pair of lovebirds now.

[ carrying around photos of each other and everything!! He seems perfectly satisfied with that, though. Unsurprisingly. ]

Lovebirds...?

[ They tilt their head curiously at the phrase, looking at him quizzically. ]

You say so much confusing stuff sometimes.

[ peas in a pod... literally any mention of a go to saying that requires contextual knowledge of common animals and plants... they shake their head. ]

Yeah. You know... Or I suppose you dont, [ he interjects, cutting himself for a moment before continuing. ] It's a type of bird that bonds for life and spends a lot of time with its partner.

[ a pause; he chuckles. ]

Mostly, it's a saying. You and I are acting like a typical couple - that's all I meant.

Oh. [ Don't mind them as their brow furrows Even more at the description, passing over the typical couple comment. ] Is that not normal for most animals?

[ They discount jellyfish and their weird mating habits because as far as they're concerned, jellyfish are like aliens compared to the animals familiar to humans. Maybe they're thinking of this too much like a gem would. ]

[ he shakes his head. ]

I don't think so. Not that I know too much about animals, but most of them don't even stay together to raise kids, as far as I can tell.

[ ... does Cairngorm even know how that works? Hm. He hopes he didn't accidentally walk into an embarrassing conversation when they were having a nice moment. ]

Except humans. Right?

[ ...right?! Not in his experience maybe, but they're pretty sure humans continue to know their parents for at least some of their lives. ]

I only ask because gems tend to partner for life, too. Or I guess the more accurate thing to say would be at until one or both get captured.

[ Until they get captured. That's depressing. If Lupin was a gem, he can imagine how he'd never be able to give up on any of them -- and, by the sounds of things, he'd never be able to do anything about it, either. No wonder Cairngorm is so stressed out. ]

Well -- generally, yeah. It depends on where you come from. There are a lot of different kinds of people in the world. Where I'm from, though, yeah. You fall in love with someone, get married, and stay together, ideally. [ a pause, followed by a curious look. ] You really keep your partners for all those hundreds of years? Your people are more romantic than I expected.

Edited (style edits...) 2019-05-29 03:29 (UTC)

Well, yes. Me and Ghost's partner before Phos— we were together for centuries. Most of our life, actually.

[ until they got beheaded and taken to the moon. They put a hand to their chin as they consider how to compare the two cultures, shaking their head. ]

But, like I said, gem partnerships aren't... I don't know if I'd call them all "romantic." And none of them are quite like what we have. [ a beat. ] Some gems are only work partners. But others don't ever get better after their partner gets taken away.

[ he's a little surprised to hear there was someone else before Phos - although he supposes it makes sense, since Cairngorm's mentioned that they haven't even known the other gem all that long in the grand scheme of things. He nods, showing a vague sort of understanding. Any romance they have can't be much like this, considering they're all stone, and, according to Cairngorm, don't touch very much (although he's wondering if that's just Cairngorm's personal take after Phos cheesed his arm a few months back.) ]

I'd imagine as much. You live for so long, after all - even we humans sometimes don't get better after losing someone. [ a pause. ] Your old partner... That was Lapis, right?

Edited 2019-05-31 04:06 (UTC)

[ That earns a gentle nod. ]

That's right. Why? You want to know something about them?

[ Despite what they'd just said about some gems never recovering from losing someone like that, they seem pretty aloof about the topic, or at least, they're not devastated by just the mention of them. ]

If you don't mind talking about them... What were they like?

[ he's curious. He only knows Cairngorm's relationships with Phos and Ghost - and both of those are rocky at best. In the end, this relationship they had with Lapis can't have amounted to very much, considering they were trapped inside Ghost at the time, but... he's sure they still had an opinion. They might not have controlled their body, but they were still aware. ]

They were a clever gem. Far smarter than Ghost and I - they had everything in the library memorized. We took over the library after they got taken, but we were no match for them in that job.

[ Cairngorm speaks relatively highly of them, and their tone is one of respect, only the slightest tinge of melancholy bleeding in. Their hand rests at the side of their face as they retrieve their memories of Lapis; the long days of patrol and the witty and charming talks Ghost and them used to have. ]

But - they were cunning and secretive, too. Always smiling like they knew something. [ For once, their remarks about a third party don't sound like complaints - they're even a little fond, if not slightly exasperated. ] That careful and intellectual aura they had is lost on Phos.

[ This is someone they liked. He doesn't think he's ever heard them talk about another person in such a positive way; it's bittersweet, knowing this person is gone, or at least gone in the form that Cairngorm knew them, but he's glad they was someone they had a positive connection with. Even if it was through the shroud of someone else's body. Lupin smiles a little. ]

You respected them a lot, huh? I can tell.

[ Phos had seemed clever and secretive, too, at least to Lupin - just goofy and enthusiastic on top of it. How much of that was Lapis? He's been wondering that all along, but he just can't imagine it's an okay thing to ask about. ]

[ Surprisingly, they just give a simple, unrestrained nod to that question. There's no use in denying it. Cairngorm has always been kinder to parties that aren't present or capable of responding - Lapis most of all. ]

Ghost and I lived by their instructions. [ Figuratively, of course! If he needed more proof that they've been socialized to be a follower since birth, there it is. ] You know, they would have been very interested in humans and technologies like this. They were really curious about the moon...

[ They are sneaking their hand over to the picture because they want to peek... but they give him a questioning glance as if to ask if it's too early and they'll somehow ruin it by looking. ]

[ curious about the enemy... he supposes there would have to be some gems like that, too, after all that time. The sentence by itself can't help reminding him of his dear friend from home. ]

If we got them in a room with Impey, I'm sure he could tell them all about it. Although our moon hasn't got any villains living on it, as far as I'm aware. [ just another little wish that won't come true. Neither of these people are here, and he doesn't know if Lapis could ever come here - although Ghost's former presence suggests it's not impossible. ] Weren't you partners? It sounds more like they were your boss.

[ as he speaks, he gives them a little nod of approval to look at the photo. It's been a few minutes - he's sure it's fine. ]

[ They shake their head. ]

We were partners. We did a lot together... patrol, playing cards. They would read to us sometimes.

[ Their eyes close momentarily just remembering it, thinking of Lapis's soothing voice and how hearing them read had always relaxed them. They have complicated feelings about Lapis, but recalling a pleasant thing or two about them - it's nice every once in a while.

With that, they finally turn the picture over, revealing a pretty well developed smiling and handsome Lupin. It's a good picture, if not a little crooked, but for someone who's barely seen other ones, it looks just perfect. Without thinking if he wants to look at it too, they pull it closer to themself, holding it gently with their thumbs on the bottom corners.

Momentarily, they're completely taken in by the picture, instantly forgetting what they were about to continue on about in relation to Lapis. They can see why people would like this sort of thing, now. Usually they can look at his smile for a few seconds before it either goes away or they avert their eyes so they don't get overwhelmed, but like this, they can look for as long as they want. They're trying to ignore the little fluttery feeling they get looking at his bright expression, frozen in time, trying to play off their distraction by putting it back on the table... but they're still looking at it, even with their arms crossing nonchalantly. ]

Oh... it worked.

[ VERY smooth... ]

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