Chapter Text
It was another long trip on the bus. One that was extremely tiring because of how long the drive was. The Sinners were able to bear it by conversing with each other. Don jumped from Yi Sang and Sinclair to Meursault in a bubbly joy, while Hong Lu was surprisingly getting along with Faust. Gregor was allowed to take a smoke so long as he had his head to stick out the window. Overhearing this, Ryoshu decided to join him as well since she too was dying for a smoke.
With one lighter, the both of them lit up their death sticks and slipped them between their lips. Every dreaded feeling was burnt out leaving the familiar addicting taste of nicotine behind in its place. A conversation was barely held between the two of them but that was normal. Ryoshu was a woman of few words and even when she spoke it was hard to understand what she had to say without Sinclair there to translate what her acronyms and abbreviations. Gregor on the other hand didn’t know how to speak to a woman like Ryoshu but also he had no obligation to speak to her in the first place so failing at a conversation, as pathetic as it may be, was okay. They didn’t need to speak much between each other anyways.
After hearing complaints about the smell of their cigarettes still finding its way into the bus, the two put them out with a scoff. With a final small laugh shared between the two of them, they slowly returned to their seats. Ryoshu was the first to sit since her seat was where they had their smoke; all she needed to do was sit down which is exactly what she did. Gregor on the other hand had to walk almost to the front of the bus since his seat resides; behind their Executive Manager, Dante, and in front of him the Bus Driver, Charon. As he made his way back, Gregor made sure not to trip over anything or to bump into Don on the way back. He was successful on his journey back until he paused for a moment. So close to his seat yet something had stopped him in his tracks.
Rodion. What stopped him in his tracks was the sight of Rodion. Her copper hair was scrunched up against the uncomfortable seat she sat in. Despite its length, the hair wasn’t near touching the floor. Yet despite its unkempt condition the hair looked so luscious. Her pale complexion only complimented her hair but looked as though it were competing with which one were to be more soft; her skin or her hair?
No — Gregor thought to himself — before she catches you staring at her, you should take your seat. Shaking his head slowly as if snapping himself out of a trance, Gregor finally sat at his designated seat. He leaned his head towards his right to make sure his gaze would look like it was directed to anyone. For a good few minutes he was able to sit still on his own but then he couldn’t help it. Something was nagging him in his head. He couldn’t understand why but he just couldn’t keep his eyes off of Rodion. Something was off, yet at the same time nothing was wrong.
Finally succumbing to the pestering urges in his mind, Gregor turned his head over. Only one quick glimpse before he turned to himself again. Okay, maybe that one was too quick since nothing could be seen then. In that case, it was alright to take another look. He turned his head slowly once more, but not too slowly or that would be too obvious. Just a bit quicker to make it look natural. No, wait, that was too quick. Gregor turned his head back to himself immediately once more.
He sighed. Why was he making a big deal out of this for himself? It wasn’t like anyone was watching him and by the looks of it, Rodion herself was in a world of her own. She was too stuck in her mind to notice what was around her. Even her eyes sold her current state of mind to anyone who would watch her. That’s right; initially it was her eyes that stopped him in his tracks. Rodion was generally beautiful, anyone would agree on that at first glance.
Her eyes were a deep blue. These eyes didn’t not reflect the ocean but the dead of a winter night. They were cold yet they were always gleaming with warmth around others. Those eyes still had life in them but those eyes would always stay cold in the end. These cold eyes of hers always made her look as if she were stuck under the spell of gloom, especially with how she was looking at the moment. But still, those deep cold eyes were ever so beautiful. It was almost impossible to look away from such captivating eyes. It was as though the eyes themselves could freeze anyone that looked into them, embracing them in the warmth that was excluded from the eyes themselves, if that made any sense at all.
Rodiya’s eyes were just as beautiful as the rest of her, Gregor concluded. Even though he had nothing left to look at, Gregor kept staring at Rodion. He hadn’t noticed it himself but his eyes were kept onto her. At this point he was staring aimlessly at her without even noticing himself. He was only able to notice when he saw Rodion start to shift. In response he jumped in his seat and quickly turned to himself. It was on pure instinct he acted on, and Rodion had picked up on this. A grin grew on her face, one that Gregor refused to look at. He was acting bashful — as clear as his attempt to not bring her attention to him — but Gregor’s attempts were futile. Rodion got up from her seat and made her way to Gregor.
“Aww, what’s up, Greg?” Rodion squished herself onto Gregor’s seat as she shoved herself onto him. She was poking his cheek teasingly. “Something on my face?”
Gregor sighed. “Ah, it's nothing.”
Despite having nothing to hide or nothing too embarrassing, Gregor would not tell Rodion why he was staring at her. Instead they bugged each other for the rest of the bus ride. Gregor was able to see more life in Rodion’s eyes now then when she was with herself. Certainly, there was warmth in those cold winter eyes.