stealhearted | after me comes the flood;

So much that a false reality provided you with a me who relied on you too much. [Sorry for your attempt to skirt away from that one, Akira.]

[Akechi... doesn't really know what he thinks of Akira, in all honesty. It's been an ugly tangle of raw emotions for a long time, and between shooting him in the head, nearly dying, and throwing himself bodily at turning himself in to face the consequences of what he'd done, he hadn't made time to unravel any of them. He needed Akira functional, specifically for the purpose of them fighting Maruki, and especially under the pretense that it might only be them, but beyond that it was hard for him to quantify his view on the guy.]

[He was interesting. They'd been rivals. Then abruptly, Akira had gotten too close too fast, and Akechi was still reeling from how hard he'd backpedaled trying to get away.]

[He sets the pillow aside and stands.] Don't be jealous of anything here, I never chose this space nor did I ever really claim it as my own. I live here because it wasn't conducive to what I was trying to accomplish to defy what was provided for me.

I don't... know if like you because I want to fix you, or because I need to be needed, or -- whatever it is. But I do like you better the way you are. Even if that means you can't stand to be around me. [ Akira clenches his fists a little before he manages to relax them, because it isn't fair for him to take anything out on Akechi right now when they're both so emotionally raw. ]

I really didn't like that reality better. [ He was just afraid everyone else did.

Akira sighs. ]

Let's go get coffee. [ At least it seems like Akira is done trying to pretend things are even remotely okay. ]

[He stares at the coffee table for a while in silence, closing his eyes.]

You'll have to forgive my suspicion of that statement's truth. Let me wash my face. [He moves away, disappearing back into his bedroom and-- struggling, a little, to wash his face, because his left hand is wrapped in bloody gauze. He keeps it on, washes his face, and then changes the gauze, pulling on a pair of gloves primarily to not get questions about the bandaging.]

[He doesn't look much better when he comes back out into the hall, but he doesn't really think it matters, anyway.]

[ Akira hesitates for a long moment when he sees Akechi, and then finally steps forward. ]

... can I touch you? [ Akechi has been in jail for several weeks, under the radar, and all of that has been completely forgotten in this world -- and it seems like his fame is less, since no one has been obsessed with him -- but...

His appearance is probably still important to him, and he still kind of looks like shit. ]

I -- uh, I can fix your hair. I help with Futaba's, sometimes.

[He appreciates that he's asking, at least, though when he looks up his eyebrows just sort of crease together and he squints.]

...it's just the convenience store, and I don't think anyone remembers who I am, anyway. If anything, going out looking awful promises they won't. [He didn't... confirm or deny if contact was acceptable.]

[ Akira steps back. He's wary of being too stifling; of being too needy; of being all the things that Akechi seems to hate about him. He doesn't know how he wants things to progress, really. He just --

wants for things to be different. But not in the way that they were, he supposes. ]

Yeah. [ Akira doesn't look too great anyway, but he doesn't look as bad as Akechi. ]

[He considers a spot on the floor between them for a while, and then looks back up at him.]

...why is it that you're so fixated on me? I've never understood.

You aren't going to believe any of it. [ Akira says, wryly, because he knows Akechi that well after all this time. ]

I'm sure you'll say you were faking it all, but you're... smart. You're determined. You're stubborn. You're funny, and you're sarcastic, and you're strong, and you're more capable than you give yourself credit for. You ... made a lot of mistakes because you got dealt a shit hand, but you still -- I think you're incredible.

[ Akira couldn't have done half of that, he doesn't think. He couldn't have done half of what Akechi did all on his own. ]

[He keeps his face held very carefully neutral, despite the fact that everything Akira says is pelting him like rain and soaking into his skin, hot and cold at the same time.]

[I think you're incredible echoes for a while in the suddenly vastly empty expanse of his brain.]

[He closes his eyes after a few seconds too long of them stinging.]

I'd be flattered if you weren't entirely off base. I'm not incredible, and I never have been. I'm just a very, very good actor. [He opens his eyes again and gives Akira a painfully rueful smile that looks a little like it hurts to maintain, and steps past him toward the genkan of his condo.] Let's go get our coffee.

[ Akira allows the subject to drop, because he's realized he isn't much better with genuine praise than Akechi is, and pushing isn't going to do either of them any good. So he just offers Akechi a smile that's too small to be fake. ]

If you keep letting me come over, I'm buying a pour over for you. [ Akira steps forward to tug his shoes back on. He took them off in a hurry, yesterday. ]

[He stops in the genkan, his face still very carefully held neutral. It's something Akira may or may not be familiar with, when his face stays this still, because it's usually because he's suppressing something he doesn't want to show.]

[Conceal, don't feel.]

...if it's easier for you to be here until we've destroyed Maruki, I won't turn down access to good coffee without making the trek to Yongen-Jaya.

[ It's not exactly the largest concession, but it's -- something. Progress, probably. It'll all be undone when Akechi goes back to jail, Akira is sure, but it's a start.

Akira doesn't know what he wants these days, but he knows he wants Akechi. Once his shoes are on, he steps outside.

He can't say he doesn't want to leave Akechi alone, but it's true. He thinks being alone in that condo right now is... not a good idea. ]

All I want in exchange is bathtub access.

[Akira deserves a gold star for deducing that one-- Akechi is well aware that being alone in his condo right now would be disastrously detrimental to his everything, but he won't be the one to put his best foot forward when it's for his own health. Not when he now lacks a reputation to maintain, not when he's no longer the media's darling.]

[He doesn't really think he wants coffee anymore, but he steps out of the condo after Akira anyway, turning and locking the door.]

It's a shower, I thought I'd told you I hadn't had a bath like the bathhouse across from Leblanc in years.

It's not a sink, so it's an automatic upgrade. [ Akira enjoys living in Leblanc, he really does. It's an upgrade from home in every way except the lack of being able to shower. Sojiro periodically makes comments implying that Akira has any sort of sex life in the attic, and Akira wants to know how he thinks he's doing anything when any sexual partner he could possibly have would be deeply offended at the idea of using wet wipes to clean up.

Except maybe Ryuji, but Akira feels like that ship sailed when he first met Akechi. All his ships sailed. Akechi sunk his battleships. ]

Maruki really missed the mark by not giving Leblanc a real bathroom. That might have convinced me. [ This is a lie.

How much, Akira does not know. ]

[The last bit coaxes a startled huff of laughter out of Akechi, and he smiles an exhaustion-diluted form of one of his sharper Detective Prince grins.] I'll remember that if I ever adhere to the lifestyle of a sociopathic therapist. I don't mind if you stay, so long as you're willing to respect my personal space.

I don't mind. I used to need a lot of space, too, before I got a cat that sleeps on me. Or... before I did. [ Since Morgana is currently a full sized human. ]

I'll mostly just make you coffee and steal your phone charger.

Sounds like a generally positive takeaway for me, there must be a catch.

[Someone walks out of the convenience store ahead of them and Akechi's posture changes, pulling inward until he eventually slows to a stop, fighting to keep his face neutral. He so very much does not want to be looked at, right now.]

[ Akira considers Akechi for a moment, wordlessly, and then pulls his glasses off, folding them shut to offer them to Akechi. Whether or not Akechi accepts, it is a shockingly valid strategy to hide when you don't feel like dealing with people. ]

The catch is that I have a lot of grossly sentimental feelings about you, even if they're from a distance.

[He reaches up and lays his fingers over Akira's, but doesn't quite take the glasses. His breathing shallows out but the person walks right past them without even really looking at them, and he slowly releases his grip. His mouth tastes sour, but he sags where he stands a little, grumbling softly.]

So long as it's kept at a distance, I can't tell you how to feel.

[ Akira just offers Akechi a sort of -- vaguely sad, extremely tired smile. He knows better than to try to stifle Akechi. Akechi is the sort of feral cat that will only run if any affection is forced upon him. ]

I'll keep it at a distance. [ He hooks his glasses onto his shirt collar, like an elderly man, but leaves them off, for the moment -- he's not in any danger of being recognized, and he doesn't have to worry about anyone being afraid of him. ]

I'm going to go raid their cooking section. [ He was entirely serious about getting that stock pot, even if he doubts the corner store sells pour overs. ]

Sure, [He offers, his tone thin, and he browses in a wandering circle, not really looking at or even really for anything. He ends up picking up a concealer stick, because he knows his eye bags look awful, and it feels more like a habit than something he really intentionally picked up. He also picks up a two-pack of a sheet mask he vaguely recalls enjoying, and a single salmon rice ball. He wanders back to the cooking section to find Akira, and stops at the mouth of the aisle when a display of fake flowers catches his eye.]

[Of course the first bunch he notices is a cluster of sunflowers. He makes a conscious effort not to look as sick as he feels, finding Akira and moving to stand mostly in his shadow.]

[ They don't have pour overs, so Akira gets several canned coffees, which will do in a pinch, and then settles on filling a stock pot -- which they do have, astonishingly -- with the ingredients he needs for curry, including rice. When he catches back up with Akechi, he immediately asks: ]

Do you own a rice cooker? [ Akira can make rice by hand, but he genuinely doesn't know if Akechi owns... many... appliances. ]

[It takes him a moment to process the question, and he grimaces like his head hurts before responding.] ...yes. It's small, maybe a four cup capacity. Sae.

That's enough if it's just the two of us. [ Akira considers Akechi for a moment, a little -- critically? ]

Do you need to restock any medicine while we're here? [ You know, band-aids for the hand, painkillers for the head, lubricant for the stick up your ass. ]

I'll pay for the curry supplies, since I'm the one insisting on it.

[Excuse you.]

[He does look at his left hand, though, the way his glove doesn't quite fit right on it because of the gauze.] ...mm, I'll get another roll of gauze tape. [He licks his lips, swallows.] We can... other things should be opening within the next few hours, to get you some necessities.

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