[ Akira doesn't quite relax, but he does loosen up a little. It's easy to turn his face into Akechi's thigh and just -- breathe, to let everything fall away for a minute. This is unfamiliar, but it's real in a way that the other reality wasn't, and the strangeness of it is oddly grounding. ]

I'm thanking you for being here. [ Akira says it softly; quietly. He knows this kind of thing makes Akechi uncomfortable, but at the same time, he needs Akechi to know how much it means to him. How valuable it is that Akechi is still here, even despite the past few hours -- weeks -- the entirety of their tumultuous relationship. ]

When all this is over, I'm going to be around so much you're going to be even more sick of me.