stealhearted | after me comes the flood;

[ 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.

Yeah. You know this area better than I do. [ Obviously, given Akechi lives here, though Akira doubts he actually meanders out and about like Akira does. Akira, who has (had?) a running rapport with several small business owners, who knows the name of the their kids and remembers facts about their lives.

It's weird how different Tokyo is, because he actually cares about this shit instead of just memorizing it to get somewhere like he did back home. ]

I'll grab an extra blanket... [ He doesn't want to, 1. assume that he will be allowed to cuddle up to Akechi every night, and, 2. assume that Akechi won't steal the blankets like a goddamn thief. ]

[Akechi has always kept to himself around here, though he feels like in this reality he may have been a touch more social. Friendly with the neighbors, but quiet and focused on his own studies more than making friends. Without being the media's darling, he didn't have to fake giving a fuck on a constant basis.]

I won't make you take the couch, it's wretchedly uncomfortable. [But there won't be much cuddling going on, most of the time.]

...Thanks. [ Akira offers Akechi a small smile, because he's glad. Akechi could tell him to take the couch, and Akira would -- he wants to give Akechi the space he needs -- but also Akira is cripplingly, depressingly lonely right now, and even the act of not-cuddling in the bed is helpful to him right now.

He's doing pretty well at pretending he's fine, but he's about one second away from a breakdown at any moment, actually. ]

Should we drop everything off before we go to that cafe?

[He shakes his head, humming a moment.] Don't... don't thank me, I believe we are both benefiting from the company of another person right now. It's symbiotic, I'm not really doing you a favor.

[He claims some medical gauze and tape, and a bottle of antiseptic. After a moments thought he also gets a suture kit. He's really not sure how bad the gash in his hand is, and it's not like they're useless if this specific injury doesn't require them.] Mmn, that's a good idea.

[ Akira hedges his bets for a long moment, trying to decide how honest they should be. He's careful about it, when they're both so raw, still, so he falls quiet until they're back near Akechi's condo building before Akira finally says: ]

I benefit from your company, specifically. [ He offers Akechi a small smile around his curry pot of ingredients, hoisted up in his arms. He'd declined a bag. ]

I think you understand me better than most people. So even if it isn't a favor, I still want to thank you.

[He was enjoying the silence, despite usually being the one who can't shut up. Regardless, he's not... angry when it's broken, or what it's broken by, but he turns something of a grimace toward him as he pulls out his keys.]

...you're wrong, because I don't understand you at all. [Maybe "at all" is pushing it, but he certainly doesn't think he understands him better than the thieves. Morgana, at the very least.]

Maybe it's because you were trying so hard to beat me? But you're the -- sometimes, it feels like you're the only one who sees me as a person. [ And then, hastily: ] I don't -- mind being the leader, and I know they care, but --

[ Akira shrugs, helplessly. He understands the perspective of the rest of the thieves: he swooped in from the countryside and immediately started saving lives and changing the world without a second doubt; he faced his own death without flinching; he did everything exactly the way he needed to and because he wanted to help people.

But he does falter, sometimes; he has doubts, sometimes. He thinks Akechi sees it more than most of them do. ]

I've always feel comfortable with you, attempted murder aside.

[He meanders into the kitchen, tries not to look at it. Sets a little potted fake sunflower he couldn't talk himself out of on top of the fridge. It looks garish in the dreariness of the apartment, but he leaves it, offering Akira a thoughtful hum.]

[Pacing around and putting away his things, he comes back to the kitchen and folds his arms over his chest, assessing Akira.] ...it's similar, I suppose, to my own circumstances. People can't realize you need help if you don't tell them, and you frequently display a marked level of capability that put them at ease while simultaneously making them put you on a pedestal of invincibility. I fought so hard to push people away and keep them at arm's length I didn't even realize myself how manipulated I was.

I like to think I know you better than most people. [ Akira hefts the curry pot onto the stove and starts unpacking it. It's too early to make curry, but he can set the ingredients up where he needs them to be. He'll start on the roux later; it'll be best if he lets it cook for a few hours. ]

Which might just be because I'm really stubborn. So -- maybe we can just know each other. [ Akira offers Akechi another one of those small, private smiles, hand going up to toy with one of his curls almost self-consciously. ]

...I'm just glad you're here.

[Emotion curdles in his stomach as he watches the nearly self-conscious gesture, the private smile. He wants this, so desperately, but he can't allow himself to have it. Least of all from Akira fucking Kurusu. He looks down at the floor between them, shrugging his shoulders gently.]

We're both relatively stubborn, so I suppose that's a fair compromise. I'm not certain I can agree to being glad to be here, so I'll let you be glad for us both.

...I can do that. [ As long as Akechi is willing to put up with him, Akira is willing to be there, to enjoy Akechi's company and to continually try to save them both from -- well, whatever seems to happen when they're alone. Terrible things for both of them, all things considered. ]

Let's go get coffee. [ Akira feels like smiles are a little weird for him, right now, when he's toeing the line of wanting to be genuine and desperately wanting to pretend everything is okay. But -- it's likely that Akechi would see right through anything fake from Akira, so. His smiles are a little smaller and a little brighter at the same time, laser focused in on Akechi.

Ahh, he's got it bad. ]

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