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[ Whoever thought going to the beach would be fun was, for the most part, correct.

It was an enjoyable experience. After all his travels with Sinbad, the rolling waves had become something of a comfort. Sinbad’s unending fervor for adventure was contagious and it had forever made Ja’far appreciate the sands meeting the sea. Ja’far had rather enjoyed himself until some idiot decided it would be great to steal his shirts and run off with them. In the amount of time it took to knock Sharrkan down into the sand and put him into a chokehold, pale shoulders were already freckling and turning an unfortunate shade of red in the heat of the summer sun.

And so he had returned once more to work, because there was always work to be done no matter the time of day. And in his office he could be found, chipping away at the piles of paperwork at his desk.

Shirtless. ]

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I would appreciate such.

[She is nagged with the idea that she should learn how to do them herself, as independent as she likes to be, and with the idea that... once she marries, she doesn't belong to the True Cross order anymore. She ought to learn how to file taxes...

But that makes her think of Juuzou, that idiot, who still hasn't come for her in this place, and she pushes it from her mind.

Instead, she fetches the aloe.

And turns back to him, tugging a braided rope from her obi and beginning to tie up her kimono sleeves.]

If you would adjust how you sit-

[She can't believe she's doing this.]

[ Her words confuse him for a bit, causing him to glance her way for a moment. He hadn’t thought that she would assist, so the gesture surprises him. However, her help would be most welcome. He needed the help and then he wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally smearing salve over her paperwork. The surrounding letters would have also been in danger—although, he wasn’t certain he cared enough to protect them from a droplet of goop or two.

He straightens a bit, scooting forward to make his back more readily accessible. ]

I apologize for the trouble.

[ Well, completing her tax forms would be a decent compensation. ]

Nonsense, you needn't apologize. I volunteered.

[She's quick to point that out- that she was doing this because she wanted to and not for any other particularly strange or debt inducing reason. Or to have him to her taxes for her for free. Her motives were pure!

But her thoughts aren't he purest as she finishes tying her sleeves and squirts a bit of aloe in to her palms, cool and soothing to the touch even on unburnt skin. It was not that she meant to- but she had been together with this man in less than pure situations in the past and so-

She shoved those impure recollections from her mind and lay hands on his back, first at his shoulders, gently as she can be, slipping aloe-covered palms across where his skin looks most tender. She didn't realize she was whispering but-]

Tell me should something pain you.

[ It would have been a good way to incur a debt, however, as it stands with her taxes in hand, it would seem they were on even ground.

He back straightens slightly at the touch, shoulders tensing momentarily before relaxing once more with a shaky exhale. Ja’far was normally adverse to touch. Zodion didn’t quite help with that, but he reluctantly admits that he needed the balm. Plus, Mamushi had already gone through the trouble of retrieving the medicine so it was too late to turn away from the treatment.

The salve is cold against his pale skin and it’s a momentary distraction from the papers at hand. His own voice is hushed as he answers with furrowed eyebrows. ]

I’ll be fine. [ At least, he should be—as he let’s out a hiss as hands come across a particularly sensitive patch. ]

I need your full name.

[ For the paperwork. ]

[Mamushi had always craved touch- to be accepted. But she craved it too much to let it show, so she bristled and stiffened to it as if she disliked it, when really, she just disliked her inability to have faith in people around her, to trust.

So she settled for taking care of her family's snakes, and became more accustomed to the touch of their smooth, cool scales than the warmth of fellow humans.]

My family name is Houjou.

[Lightened her touch when he hissed, the very tips of her fingers spreading the aloe with the briefest of touches in those places that seemed redder than the rest. Bit her lip softly, (no impure thoughts, no impure thoughts), as she stopped moving, a brief stutter of motion indicative of the slight stab of pain she felt before she resumed.]

But I... Have been asked to wed in to the Shima family. However, this place... Interrupted such plans. I'm not sure if... That matters.

[For the paperwork.

... What she didn't say, "I'm not sure if it will happen anymore." If Juuzo would still accept her as a bride, after this place and what it had made her do. If she could accept herself as his bride.]

[ He simply nods. Transcribing the name onto the paper in his precise hand and then placing a mark in a box labeled ‘single’. ]

It should be fine. The papers ask for your present state of affairs so, as it has not happened yet, we’ll leave it as Houjou. The gods are very good at interrupting plans, it seems. [ Although, there was something in her words, in the slight pause. ] You say you had been asked…Were you taken before you could accept his hand? Or was it an arrangement?

Also, do you have any dependents? Ah—and what is your current income? An average number is all I need.

[ It’s beginning to get a bit difficult to ignore her administrations. The process revived the prickling pain that ran across his shoulders. It didn’t help that the knots in his back from all the stress of his work had started to join in with a chorus of twinges.

His shifts slightly beneath her hands, unconsciously shaking his head.

Stop it, Ja’far. You need to stay still. ]

I had accepted, and my father as well- [Which to some people might find out that her father's permission was needed, but from what she understood of Ja'far's own world, perhaps that was a normal thing for him as well.] Though it had not been co- [AHEM] co- [shiiiiii what other words started with "co" besides CONSUMMATED?] correctly... submitted in to record.

[Smooth, Mamushi. (No.) But she manages to focus far too intently on his back, cocking her head this way and that as she nibbled anxiously on her bottom lip, face red as a beet, using the various angles to look for places she's missed based on the slight shimmering of the aloe.]

I have no dependents- and though the shrine survives primarily off donations, but I receive what I understand to be minimum wage...

[ He understood well enough that it was the norm in some places. People had various customs and he did not have anything to say on how they differed. There were certainly some where a father’s acceptance was necessary. This was also often the case with royalty. He simply nods. ]

Are you alright? If you need some water, you could have my glass or I could pour you another.[ He wonders if she might have a summer cold. That would explain why she stumbled with her words. Hiccups?

He finishes scribbling in the boxes. He fills other empty boxes with small ticks. The rest of the form was simple and there was no need for further questions. ]

Thank you, that’s all I need. They shouldn’t be much in terms of taxes since you work for the shrine. It would be different if you worked for a store.

[ Just as he finishes, he habitually leans back, the back of the chair rubbing into the mess of salve and peeled skin. He grimaces, muscles tenses, as he quickly curls forward. ]

I shouldn’t have done that…[ Nrgh. ] I hope I haven’t made a mess of your hardwork.

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