Framed in Fortune (Arc/Lani, Painters)(NSFW)

"And?" Takumi asked, unsure what the issue with that was. It didn't quite yet dawn on him that this was the first actual sentence that either of them actually said during this whole time, one that actually prompted an answer from the other.

Some internal part of her was screaming, and she had to fight down the sound trying to come out as a whimper. She wasn't ready for this, not at all. Turning the game off and setting the console in the seat beside her, she curled up once more, pulling the blanket over her head. Sleep didn't demand awkward social interaction from her. Sleep understood.

Takumi looked over at Rin rather confused, though only for a moment again. He really didn't know what the issue was, but he wasn't going to pry. Then if she wanted to sleep rather than play games... Well, that was her choice. He just continued drawing, rather stubbornly at this point, anything that wasn't Rin.

She didn't fall asleep as easily as she had before, a fact made evident by how much she tossed and turned in her seat. Eventually, she curled up in the chair, knees to her chest and blanket around her shoulders, staring at the back of the seat in front of her like it had offended her ancestors.

Takumi ignored her inability to get back to sleep for the most part. She had already slept before and finding out anything more than what he could figure with his brain would require talking. Neither seemed to be capable of that at the time.

There was still simply too much time for them to pass through before they'd land, and with a connecting flight that had, at least a two-hour layover, she was really beginning to second guess how good of an idea this hunt was. She was uncomfortable with this awkward silence, but the thought of speaking made it feel like her throat was closing, like her brain itself was sweating from the stress of the possible --- inevitable --- encounter. This wasn't about to be any easier when they landed, as they were going to have to get a room. She could easily afford two rooms, even in a nicer area where the water was perfectly safe, but if she was perfectly honest, bandages or not, she much preferred to not be left completely alone. Resting her head on her knees, she flipped the blanket over the top of her silver locks and began speaking without turning her head.

"Takumi..." His name came out broken and she wanted to curse something --- it or her tongue --- for the fact. The word cracked, coming out more as "Taw-KOO-_me" than how it would if properly spoken.

Takumi seemed to jump at the sound of her voice and the broken nature of the way she said his name. He wasn't too startled, but still enough to jump. When the surprise went away, without looking in her direction, he replied briefly, "Yes, Rin?"

"We're..." She took a moment to clear her throat, drinking some of her water before continuing to speak. "We're going to have to stay the night in Mexico..." Rin shifted a bit uncomfortable, eyes daring to dart to the side and peer at him from their corners, but she otherwise refused to look at him. Perhaps that was actually subtle enough for the gesture to go unnoticed.

"I had figured that that would be the case?" Takumi said, questioning, not quite sure why she was so nervous about telling him that. He didn't look from his drawings either, seemingly not noticing her looking at him.

"I, uhm..." She shifted again, pulling the blanket completely over her face and hiding behind it like it was some sort of shield. "Oneroomortwo?" Rin blurted the words out so quickly that they blended together, and despite how much she wished he understood, she would be honestly surprised if he actually did. The meister didn't seem willing to admit her fear of being alone in the foreign country.

The way she said that gave him pause for just a moment, and he looked back to the window for a short while. "A...A-Ah, right... W-well, as long as we have separate beds, there should not be issues..." Takumi said fairly quietly in response to her, not really thinking about the fact that it was likely that there was a lack of issues before because they weren't so acutely aware of each other.

Rin nodded fervently beneath the blanket, seeming to agree with this development. She even released a, fairly verbal, sigh of relief at the notion. It hadn't occurred to her that English might be a problem, as she hadn't arranged sleeping quarters prior to leaving like she usually did with trips. This meant that she'd have to request the room herself and then hope that they had a translator on hand. Then again, she did have a phone, but the notion of using that, as well, escaped her.

Takumi, being just about the last person involved in the planning of their trips, didn't even begin to think about the language barrier that had not been an issue with setting up rooms beforehand. Thus, he went back to drawing, not having much else to add to their conversation on sleeping arrangements nor any other conversation to start.

Before long, the first half of their trip was coming to an end, an announcement overhead requesting that belongings be secured and trays returned to their proper position. Rin reached up into the bin to grab Takumi's bag for him, handing it over before passing along the handheld console as well. She, herself, had her bag between her feet and her seat, secured to the floor in such a way as she continued to use the blanket like a shield. Honestly, she looked like a child, but she didn't seem to care.

Takumi placed both the console and his sketch pad inside the bag quickly, along with his bottle of water which he made sure was thoroughly closed. After that, well, he did as he usually did and followed just behind Rin.

When the plane came to a stop, she already had her bag in hand and was ready to go. Honestly, she looked almost offended to have to leave the blanket, though she had it folded in her seat nonetheless. Leaving the plan, she lead Takumi to their connection gate, glancing towards the nearby shops and restaurants. They could go ahead and eat now, or wait until later. She turned to Takumi, nodding in the direction she'd been looking, asking without speaking, eyes not quite fully on him.

Takumi's gaze was quite quickly redirected in the direction that she had nodded in, though he only shrugged, clearly quite indifferent to the idea. He wasn't overly hungry, and eating at a restaurant of any time might end up the same way as that one time when the servers and chefs alike mistook them for a couple... He really didn't need that in his life right about now, as even the thought made him look down at the floor and groan. The same kind of mistake got them both in this awkward mess in the first place, when he was spacing out... Forget, dammit, forget!

Rin nodded, shrugging but leaving her bag beside him where they'd been sitting outside the next gate. They had about two hours to wait, and she wanted at least something to snack on. With that, she wandered off, wallet in one pocket and phone in the other, hands shoved possessively in them as she made sure they would not disappear.

Takumi watched Rin walk away for a moment before catching himself doing that and instead turning his attention to getting the handheld out of the bag again, deciding to switch from drawing to using that; if Rin wasn't going to, then he might as well use it.

She returned a few minutes later with a bag of overpriced fast food and a drink holder with two sodas. Clearly, she hadn't completely listened to him. Sitting a seat apart from him, she set the drinks and bag in the middle. Rin took out a sandwich and began to nibble at it as she scrolled through her phone, saying nothing to him all the while.

Takumi looked at the two drinks for a moment, contemplating, before sighing and picking one of them up. He drew his legs up onto the chair so that he could put the drink between his knees and chest instead of holding it sensibly in order to be able to sip on it while playing. Straws were great.

Rin had been around him long enough to know his preferences for food and drink, and had ordered accordingly. Still, her focus was on the mobile device in front of her, where she seemed to be reading something either really serious or really distracting. Then again, she might have been stuck in her usual loop of having to reread text because she hadn't been paying enough attention.

They had two hours. How long could she keep this up?

After a while of sipping on the drink, he set both it and the console aside to instead eat at least some of the food that she had gotten for him. He mumbled a 'thank you' to her before he did get to eating it, though.

Rin nodded, though she looked frustrated, either at him or the article, though most likely at herself. Giving up on the text, she moved on to a mindless app game, distracting herself with it instead..

Takumi distracted himself with the food he was eating until he was gone. That's when he went back to playing the game which he set aside earlier and sipping on his drink, which he returned to the relatively precarious position it had been in before.