vagabond["<p><b><i><span>toulouse-lautrec (tokyo debunker oc one-shot)</span></i></b><span><br><br></span><b><span>( kaito hires niki to do a photoshoot for his instagram. niki is a grouchy ball of stress, as always. )</span></b><span><br><br>— — —<br><br>Niki Fletcher was going to </span><i><span>shake</span></i><span> Kaito. 'Til his teeth rattled in his skull, preferably.<br><br>\"Come </span><i><span>on</span></i><span>,\" the man in question whined. \"What is taking you so long?\"<br><br>\"I'm getting,\" said Niki, \"your shot.\" He had to grind the words out through his teeth. Whose idea had this been anyway, to let Kaito of all people drag him along as a photographer. At least the man was paying and Niki got to put this on his portfolio so he wasn't going to complain too badly.<br><br>They were in a park in Tokyo, where Niki had taken Kaito for the express purpose of shooting him—with a camera for Kaito's Instagram, unfortunately, and not with a crossbow, though they were contemplating it. Kaito wasn't mean or anything but he was </span><i><span>annoying</span></i><span> and Niki didn't take to aggravation well.<br><br>\"There. Hold still.\" Niki depressed the shutter on their camera once, twice, three times, four. \"There. You can move now.\"<br><br>\"Can I see?\" Kaito scurried over to peer over Niki's shoulder. <br><br>Niki instinctively yanked away, then moved back. \"Here.\"<br><br>\"Oh, wonderful!\" Kaito simply lit up. \"Thank you! I don't know why I didn't ask you to do this before.\"<br><br>\"Scared?\" said Niki. <br><br>\"Um . . .\" Kaito scratched the back of his undercut. \"Yeah? I don't usually think of Hotarubi students as being scary, you're all nice and gentle and artsy, but . . . well, then there's you.\"<br><br>\"I do think I might be better off somewhere else sometimes, but . . .\" Niki settles the camera back into its case. \"I need Hotarubi's connections. And I like the people. Even if I do sometimes stick out like a sore thumb.\" They shrug. \"Eh. Dylan, Van Gogh, Pollock, Wilde, Sioux, Colman Smith . . . I'm in good company.\"<br><br>\"And you look wonderful in purple.\"<br><br>\"Are you sure you're not bi?\" Niki teases. \"Because you keep sounding kind of bi to me.\"<br><br>\"Does it matter? You wouldn't go out with me if I was!\"<br><br>\"True. I like my people a very specific kind of scary. Now, Whats-his-firstname Sutherland, from Emrys . . .\"<br><br>\"Aww. But I paid you for the photoshoot.\" Kaito mopes, sagging.<br><br>\"And you'll pay me for the date, too?\"<br><br>Kaito goes red. \"I—\" He stutters for a moment, broken. </span><i><span>\"What</span></i><span> are you insinuating?\" It comes out as a high, embarrassed screech.<br><br>\"Rent-lowering gunshots,\" says Niki. \"I'm Toulouse Lautrec. I'll have those pictures for you this evening.\"</span></p>", "<p><strong><em>toulouse-lautrec (tokyo debunker oc one-shot)</em></strong></p><p><strong>( kaito hires niki to do a photoshoot for his instagram. niki is a grouchy ball of stress, as always. )</strong></p><p>— — —</p><p>Niki Fletcher was going to <em>shake</em> Kaito. 'Til his teeth rattled in his skull, preferably.</p><p>\"Come <em>on</em>,\" the man in question whined. \"What is taking you so long?\"</p><p>\"I'm getting,\" said Niki, \"your shot.\" He had to grind the words out through his teeth. Whose idea had this been anyway, to let Kaito of all people drag him along as a photographer. At least the man was paying and Niki got to put this on his portfolio so he wasn't going to complain too badly.</p><p>They were in a park in Tokyo, where Niki had taken Kaito for the express purpose of shooting him—with a camera for Kaito's Instagram, unfortunately, and not with a crossbow, though they were contemplating it. Kaito wasn't mean or anything but he was <em>annoying</em> and Niki didn't take to aggravation well.</p><p>\"There. Hold still.\" Niki depressed the shutter on their camera once, twice, three times, four. \"There. You can move now.\"</p><p>\"Can I see?\" Kaito scurried over to peer over Niki's shoulder. </p><p>Niki instinctively yanked away, then moved back. \"Here.\"</p><p>\"Oh, wonderful!\" Kaito simply lit up. \"Thank you! I don't know why I didn't ask you to do this before.\"</p><p>\"Scared?\" said Niki. </p><p>\"Um . . .\" Kaito scratched the back of his undercut. \"Yeah? I don't usually think of Hotarubi students as being scary, you're all nice and gentle and artsy, but . . . well, then there's you.\"</p><p>\"I do think I might be better off somewhere else sometimes, but . . .\" Niki settles the camera back into its case. \"I need Hotarubi's connections. And I like the people. Even if I do sometimes stick out like a sore thumb.\" They shrug. \"Eh. Dylan, Van Gogh, Pollock, Wilde, Sioux, Colman Smith . . . I'm in good company.\"</p><p>\"And you look wonderful in purple.\"</p><p>\"Are you sure you're not bi?\" Niki teases. \"Because you keep sounding kind of bi to me.\"</p><p>\"Does it matter? You wouldn't go out with me if I was!\"</p><p>\"True. I like my people a very specific kind of scary. Now, Whats-his-firstname Sutherland, from Emrys . . .\"</p><p>\"Aww. But I paid you for the photoshoot.\" Kaito mopes, sagging.</p><p>\"And you'll pay me for the date, too?\"</p><p>Kaito goes red. \"I—\" He stutters for a moment, broken. <em>\"What</em> are you insinuating?\" It comes out as a high, embarrassed screech.</p><p>\"Rent-lowering gunshots,\" says Niki. \"I'm Toulouse Lautrec. I'll have those pictures for you this evening.\"</p>"]