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[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun landed on his and Lysette's rooftop and crumpled to the ground in as controlled a manner as he could make it. Had anyone else asked to meet him tonight he would have told them exactly where to shove it, but he'd already planned to meet Lysette before that day's events. Hopefully she would be fine with him not being his usual charming self. It was not every day he executed someone, after all.

He heaved a sigh and stretched out on the roof, his mistcloak giving him scant comfort against the hard surface. He did not mind in the slightest, stretching himself out to be spreadeagled against the rough, ashy surface, before going completely limp and closing his eyes. He didn't both burning tin, it would only make him more uncomfortable, but a spark of pewter eased his discomfort and he just relaxed. No one would come here except Lysette, and she was no danger to him. Here at least, he was safe and had no daggers to hide from.

[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette had taken to showing up early to her meetings with Jasun just to give the place a look before she landed on the roof. She didn't like the neighborhood they were meeting in, but it was their spot. She didn't want to change things too much by making him meet her somewhere else... She watched Jasun for a few moments before dropping a coin and using it to launch herself to their rooftop. She landed gracefully, flaring pewter as she hit the roof so she wouldn't hurt herself or clumsily fall over in the process.

"You look awful," she said as she took up her normal position on the roof, sitting cross legged next to him. "What's wrong?"

Lysette could already tell he was in a bad mood, but she just hoped that she could lighten it somehow. Usually they were laughing and making jokes with one another before they began training, but somehow it didn't seem like tonight would be one of those nights.

[Jasun Vallace]

He heard her land on the roof, he did not need tin to recognize her stride, and anyway no one else would be there, so he did not so much as flinch when he heard her. He stayed spreadeagled and limp as she walked over to him.

Jasun was quiet a while, he knew that Lysette would not find him silly, but he could not stop himself from hesitating. He answered her eventually, not bothering to open his eyes, "I had to kill someone today. Usually it would not have such an effect, but usually they would have been attacking me. Wren was just an idiot with a silver tongue who was trying to convince my crew to turn against me. So I had to kill him, in front of them."

He leaned harder against the roof, as if trying to gain some sort of comfort from its solidity and sighed, "He was just stupid, but he also had a wife and kids and I probably doomed them to die as well and sometimes shit like this makes me happy I'm going to be leaving this ash-stained pit of a city. Even if I'm going to have to do the same stuff somewhere else. At least the ghosts won't haunt me as much."

[Lysette Hasting]

It didn't occur to her that it would upset Jasun so much to have to make an example of someone in one of his crews. There was a lot she didn't know about Jasun's actual profession. She was incredibly naive when it came to knowing how it all worked. She also never put any actual thought into killing skaa -- she just assumed he had killed one. It seemed to bother him enough to talk about leaving the city.

It almost took her breath away. She knew that it would not be a normal night, but she didn't want it to be a goodbye. She bit her lower lip while she thought of how to get him to stay. She just wanted him to be with her forever. She had grown to rely on his company to get her through days. Most of the time she would spend an entire day thinking about him and then she would come to their rooftop even on the days she knew he was busy, just in case. She missed him when he wasn't around.

How could he just talk about leaving the city so casually? How was it inevitable that he would just leave her. Did she really mean so little to him? He said he loved her. Lysette didn't understand, but it was hard to ask why he would want to leave after he had just explained. He would giver her that look. The one that told her she was asking a stupid question.

"Isn't there anything in this ash stained pit of a city that you like?" she asked. Lysette tried to imagine her life without Jasun, but she couldn't quite wrap her head around it. It would be much more dull. She felt a small lump at the back of her throat that told her that she would need to think about something else -- and quickly. She was not about to punctuate Jasun's terrible day with crying.

[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun flinched at her tone, she sounded... scared? Angry? He wasn't quite sure, but it was definitely not what he wanted her to be feeling. He opened his eyes and sat up, reaching a hand over to stroke her cheek lightly before pulling away. "Of course there is. It's where you are, after all." He assured her, but then he looked away, his hands clenched around eachother, "But it is not as if I can stay forever. You are eligible, and have been in society for several years now. It is only a matter of time before you are married off. Perhaps I am weak or petty or foolish, but I do not want to be here when that happens."

He did not mention that it would also be easier for her if he was not around. She could have time to get over him, time to mourn the relationship, and then be able to move on. Perhaps she and her husband could love eachother, he doubted it, he just couldn't see an average nobleman having the patience or drive to get her to open up, but it was possible. Not really comfortable, the idea that she would love someone else, but he would hope for it nonetheless.

[Lysette Hasting]

She had been hoping for the first part of his answer at least. She was enough reason to be in the city at the moment, but he had never planned to actually stay there forever, not even when he realized he was in love with her. That didn't even make him want to find a way for them to be together? She was confused.

Lysette knew in that moment that she just simply couldn't survive in Luthadel without him. She would be alone in a city that was harsh and cruel with nothing to look forward to without Jasun. She would go back to being trapped and alone.

"Who says I have to be married off? Hasting won't get rid of a Mistborn so easily..." she looked at the rooftop to avoid his eyes, to avoid what was inevitable. "I-I." she stuttered before taking a calming breath, but her chest still felt tight. He couldn't just leave her.

"I don't want you to go," she muttered, knowing that even if she spoke softly he was burning tin to see her... so he could still hear. She was fighting tears now with every breath. She wouldn't let them out -- not when she was supposed to be distracting Jasun from a terrible day already. That could only make it worse in so many ways. "and I don't want to marry anyone else." she added after she had made sure that she didn't sound like she was going to cry.

[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun went very, very still at her admission. Lysette had never said she loved him. He knew she did, of course, but the words had never actually left her lips. This was the closest she had ever come to vocalizing it and his heart leaped and twisted at the same time.

"Lysette," He moved so he was sitting next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder to pull her loosely against him. The fact that she was close to tears couldn't really be hidden from him, not when he knew her so well, and he had to comfort her. "I don't want you to marry anyone else either. But... could you even be happy leaving Hasting? I don't think you could, and it is not as if I can marry in."

[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette took another deep breath and leaned against Jasun slightly. It was nice to know he was there to comfort her if she needed it. If she started crying. "I don't think that I can leave, but why couldn't you marry in?" Lysette asked. "They think they'll eventually lose one Mistborn, but if they gain one instead, who's to say they would care about the details?"

She knew that was not entirely true. They would ask more questions than that. She bit her bottom lip before continuing.

"W-would you want to though?" she asked. "If there were no circumstances to consider, whether I married out or you married in, doesn't matter. Would you want to...?" she paused, trying not to sound too stupid for having to ask. "Marry me?"

[Jasun Vallace]

"Of course." Jasun said, leaning down to press her lips against her temple. Her ash stained temple, blegh, bad idea. "Of course I want to marry you." He was careful with his words, keeping them from dipping into anything possessive, even if those were his true feelings as well. He didn't like feeling so possessive, it was just... creepy.

"It's just... the details you so causally dismiss are sort of important. If I was just a lowborn noble from Klessium, it would not be such a problem, I'm sure. But my House doesn't exist anymore, and then there's the whole being a criminal thing..." He sighed, downcast, "I just don't see how there is any way we can convince Hasting it would be a good idea."

[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette was relieved to hear him say yes. The way Lysette looked at it, just because he was in love with her right now didn't mean he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Lysette could see herself with no one else. She didn't want anyone else.

Most nobles ended up with husbands they hated, or hadn't even met before their wedding. She considered herself lucky to at least have the minor hope that she could marry someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

Lysette sighed. She couldn't just let that it was difficult for them to be together stop her from trying. She just couldn't let Jasun go. Anything worth having was worth effort to have. That was the only reason she kept training, so that she could someday be better than her trainer. So that someday she might use her skills to stay alive. Life was worth having. It was hard to keep.

"Why does anyone have to know you're a criminal? That doesn't have to come up at all," Lysette said. "And why does it matter if your house fell? You survived. That's what's important. They'll look at that and see how impressive it really is. You have effectively been in hiding from assassins for twenty years. Which is a perfectly legitimate reason not to have an established nobility presence..."

She let her voice trail off, before getting to the actual point of what she was saying. "I am sure we can come up with a way that would convince them if we tried hard enough."

[Jasun Vallace]

"I mean, the thing is that I could not do as I usually do, and just make up a House. After all, the papers and alibis don't usually have to stand up to the scrutiny of all of Luthadel, which is what would happen if I married you. Everyone would want to know who I was. I couldn't go as Jasun Vallace, because some people here might know that it is fallen. I doubt they would know my name, though..." He trailed off, thinking, "But... if we told the truth, or part of it. If I pretended to be a normal nobleman for a little while, and then... just so long as no one knows I'm a conman, or how we actually met. It would be possible if, and only if you could get your House to agree to it, and be willing to play along to acquire a poorly trained Mistborn." Perhaps they could avoid mentioning that last part.

"So you would have to tell someone about me, and get their help. Could you do that?" He knew about her friendship with Colette, of course, but would she really want to help Lysette marry some man she met in the middle of the night? Would anyone? But there was no way they could do this alone.

[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette sighed. She didn't care how they spun the tale. To be honest she just wanted the whole thing to be done with. If she had her way they'd be married by morning and everyone would be fine with what they were left with. She knew that things could never be that easy though.

"I ... I could try." She said. Lysette didn't know how Colette would take the idea that Lysette had been seeing another Mistborn at night for the last few months. "Colette would be the only one I could tell. She's the only friend I trus--" She paused. "She's the only one I have."

"It doesn't have to be decided yet, I just wondered." She said. "I just wanted to know before you just disappeared one day and I never knew..." Lysette wondered if he would think she was crazy. It was out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

[Jasun Vallace]

"I wouldn't leave without telling you." He said, somewhat confused, "If I just disappeared one day, as far as you would know I'd be dead. I wouldn't do that to you." And if he actually did die, he'd put in place measures to let her know of it. He wouldn't just disappear without any kind of goodbye, why did she think he would?

"But, anyways, I can probably arrange the necessary papers to "debut" in Luthadel. It will at least a month, though. Probably a bit longer to grease all the right palms and forge everything..." He trailed off, he would need Gil's help to do this, surely. Because there was no way the crew could be involved, he'd probably have to disband it, he'd have to have Gil's help and his help alone. There was just the whole fact he had no idea that Jasun was noble. None at all... Still, he would tell him and get his help. He was sure he would help him, even if Gil cut ties with him afterwards.

[Lysette Hasting]

I wouldn't leave without telling you.

Lysette smiled. She was glad he wouldn't leave without telling her. She didn't know how much that meant to her before he said it. It was a fear that she realized only after it was vocalized. Lysette feared rejection above most things, but it would sting more coming from Jasun. She would assume he had either died or run away from her and most of her thoughts would land on running away.

She perked up when he started talking about the actual plan. She hadn't meant to set things in motion, but she had apparently done it. Jasun already thought of how he might get her family to accept him... and they could make a show of their meeting at a ball.

Lysette didn't even know what to say. She was quiet after he trailed off for a few moments. "Are you sure about this?" she asked, trying to make sure that he thought she was worth all of the effort and everything that they would have to go through to be together.

"Am I really worth all that?" she wondered aloud. She hadn't meant to say it, but it slipped out. She was letting her guard down too much around him, she hardly had time to think about them before the words came tumbling out of her mouth. She would have to keep that in check.

[Jasun Vallace]

He didn't have to think before answering, "Yes." He tightened his grip on her, wanting to make sure she understood how serious he was. "Yes, Lysette, the only reason I never brought up marriage was I didn't see how it was possible. But if you think it is, and you know much more about your House than I do, then I am willing to do whatever it takes."

Given, this could very well end up getting him killed, or tortured, or many, many bad things, but if it didn't, he could be with her. Unreservedly. He wouldn't have to lose her to someone else. Someone who would not love or understand her. He could be around her, the one person he trusted with everything, the one person who could make him feel safe, for more than a few hours every night. She was worth any sacrifice.

[Lysette Hasting]

The only reason he hadn't brought it up was because he couldn't see it working? She was reassured for the moment at least that Jasun wasn't going to give up halfway through. Once she talked to Colette, they would have to give everything they had very quickly, or else this was not going to work.

"When we're... When we're ready, I will talk to Colette." she said. "I don't know if it will work, but I know that they're not stupid. They know that they'll lose me, too if they don't accept. Or they will know it."

As much as she liked that he was holding her for comfort, she had to rescue herself from his arms or she would get lost there forever. She turned her upper body so she could hug him, before pulling away and moving so that she was a few feet away.

"Colette will have to see it." she said taking a deep breath. "I don't know who else I could trust."

[Jasun Vallace]

Jasun nodded, trying to not look too put out that she had left his embrace. He knew there was an upper limit on how long they could touch before she grew uncomfortable. He was slowly making that higher but... It would just be nice if he was the one to pull away, for once.

She was putting off speaking to Colette, not that he really blamed her. He would put off telling Gil who he was forever if he could. He'd put it off for nearly twenty years after all. Still at her words is made him wonder why she had no one else. He'd always wondered about her parents, but she had never mentioned her family, and her reluctance to do so made him not want to pry. They could have died recently after all, and he would just be reminding her of her grief. He really didn't understand why Hasting had been so foolish to isolate her. By doing that they'd prevented her from finding reasons to want to stay with them, besides her conditioning. It was so stupid, he hated it, hated them, but he didn't know how he would be in a position to change anything. It was probably better to not think about it.

He realized something somewhat unrelated and latched onto it almost frantically. As the realization solidified in his mind he could not help but cast Lysette a very suggestive smile, and only barely managed to keep himself from leering at her half seriously. "But if I we marry that means I will get to see you in a dress." That sounded like the best thing in the world to him. "And you will see ME in a suit. Oh yes, this is wonderful."

[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette bit her lip and looked down at the rooftop. He would see her in a dress. That was something that she had never actually thought about. If they really committed to getting married he would see her all the time... in the light of day. She would wear dresses. Maybe that would somehow make her feel more comfortable in them, knowing that he liked the thought of seeing her in them.

She had always been more comfortable with a bound chest in her training clothes. It was just easier not to see herself as a woman. Women were weak. Unacceptable.

"What, you don't like my training clothes?" she asked, as she looked back up feigning indignation. She did smile though after a moment. It was a nervous sort of smile, but at least she smiled.

"I hadn't thought about that, actually," She chuckled. "I doubt you would recognise me. I could hide in plain sight from you."

[Jasun Vallace]

"I love your training clothes." His voice was as suggestive as he could possibly make it, and his smile compounded that. He would have gone on, but as much as she had set herself up for it, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. He could tell by her reaction that the idea of him seeing her in a dress was worrisome, and that just made him wonder why. It wasn't as if she could possibly look less beautiful.

"Oh? You think some make up could hide you from me?" He grinned again, "You would have to do better than that to escape, I'm afraid." Even if he hadn't had tin, he could hardly forget what she looked like underneath the grime. He'd imagined it enough times.

[Lysette Hasting]

Lysette blushed a deep red at his obviously suggestive comment, but it didn't make her uncomfortable as it might have once. She was getting used to his nonchalance with the more sensitive subjects. It didn't keep her from blushing when he made comments like that, but it at least didn't make her want to run away or punch him to make him stop talking.

Once she recovered from the blush, she smirked and thought about continuing their usual banter. It took her a few moments, but then her grin turned playful.

"I bet you I could hide from you, if I wanted to." Lysette liked this idea for a new game. It would allow her to figure out new costumes. Perhaps then they could meet more during the light of day. "We can make a game of it someday," she said.