Akira Kurusu (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stealhearted) wrote2021-02-11 10:02 pm
stealhearted) wrote2021-02-11 10:02 pm
Entry tags:
are you hurting the one you love?
psst psst [clicks tongue for akechi, sets out curry as a treat]--
Just a painkiller, in case it hurts when you're trying to sleep. [ It's not like either of them are strangers to pain, and he doubts Akechi will bother taking it, but he prefers to offer it all the same. Particularly since the couch isn't exactly comfortable to sleep on when you don't have to try to stay off a specific side due to a bruise. ]
[He blinks, his expression slackening at the little tablet in his palm, and he nods slowly. He doesn't really think he needs it, but it's an oddly thoughtful gesture to the point that it sort of bothers him, actually.]
...it's unnecessary. [Were he still stuck on his Detective Prince spiel, he'd have made a fuss about thanking him for it, but he's not, and he's still working through the notion that Akira is just... Like That. It's not an ulterior motive, it's just... thought, spared for the fact that his face might hurt while he's sleeping. He can't adjust.]
[He leans sideways and places the tablet very carefully atop his bag of makeup sponges, one of the books Akira left for him in his other hand, and winds up staying draped sideways to lay the book flat and open it. He's going to wind up needing the painkiller after all, with the way he's laying.]
...it's unnecessary. [Were he still stuck on his Detective Prince spiel, he'd have made a fuss about thanking him for it, but he's not, and he's still working through the notion that Akira is just... Like That. It's not an ulterior motive, it's just... thought, spared for the fact that his face might hurt while he's sleeping. He can't adjust.]
[He leans sideways and places the tablet very carefully atop his bag of makeup sponges, one of the books Akira left for him in his other hand, and winds up staying draped sideways to lay the book flat and open it. He's going to wind up needing the painkiller after all, with the way he's laying.]
Just in case. [ Akira shrugs a little, and then flops down on his bed. He doesn't have a lot of studying to do, with how close he is to the end of school (despite his airheaded evidence to the contrary, his grades have been shockingly good, even for kind of missing part of the semester but not really because the world was weird).
Instead, he just flips through a couple magazines -- one's a fashion magazine with some photos of Ann, one's an art zine that Yusuke mentioned, and one is literally a catalogue of model guns because even if the Metaverse is gone old habits die hard. ]
Instead, he just flips through a couple magazines -- one's a fashion magazine with some photos of Ann, one's an art zine that Yusuke mentioned, and one is literally a catalogue of model guns because even if the Metaverse is gone old habits die hard. ]
[Akechi has always been a pretty fast reader, but he's exhausted in more ways than one when he cracks open whatever he's borrowed. As such, where he started propped up on an elbow turning pages with his free hand he winds up sagging forward and reading at an angle laying on his arm, and probably before Akira gets to his third book he's passed right the hell out, still wearing the borrowed hoodie.]
Edited 2021-02-24 02:07 (UTC)
[ Akira isn't paying close enough attention to notice exactly when Goro drifts off, but he notices eventually. He pauses for a moment, tucks away his magazines, and then very carefully slips over to attempt to remove the book and tug the blanket over Akechi. He's pretty sure Akechi is a light sleeper, given what he knows about him, so it's a very slow process to try and make sure that Akechi doesn't completely throw out every bone in his body.
Once that's done, Akira creeps back to turn the light off and go to bed himself, but it takes him longer than he'd like to drift off.
However:
Akira did not turn off his alarm for school, despite the fact that he isn't going, so it starts blaring at the appropriate early hour, a gratingly cheerful chirping as Akira attempts to fumble back into consciousness. ]
Once that's done, Akira creeps back to turn the light off and go to bed himself, but it takes him longer than he'd like to drift off.
However:
Akira did not turn off his alarm for school, despite the fact that he isn't going, so it starts blaring at the appropriate early hour, a gratingly cheerful chirping as Akira attempts to fumble back into consciousness. ]
[He makes a vague sound and opens his eyes for about ten seconds, blinking stupidly at Akira, but absolutely will not remember the occurrence later in life. He folds onto his side easily with the removal of the book and introduction of a blanket, going as far as to pull the hem of it forward and partway over his head before he is out again, and Akira would do very well to never mention having seen such a thing.]
[The alarm, however, is completely different than any Akechi has ever set for himself, and he's typically a natural early riser anyway, so the sudden invasion of sound causes quite a number of comical reactions. For starters, he snaps awake to an approximate 30% consciousness, sitting straight up and mumbling a string of words that make no sense ("The cheese cubes are in the basement", in this particular instance, if Akira could process the sounds as words with the way he didn't open his mouth all the way to say them). He then sits very still, letting his eyes search his entire field of vision while he figures out where he is and why it isn't entirely where he should be, and his eyes fall on Akira.]
[His attempt at saying "Kurusu" isn't much better than the mumbling bit about cheese cubes, because he sounds like his mouth is stuck together, which it may well be from the weird position he slept in. He scrunches his face, sits a little straighter, and tries again.]
Kurusu, shut that thing off.
[The alarm, however, is completely different than any Akechi has ever set for himself, and he's typically a natural early riser anyway, so the sudden invasion of sound causes quite a number of comical reactions. For starters, he snaps awake to an approximate 30% consciousness, sitting straight up and mumbling a string of words that make no sense ("The cheese cubes are in the basement", in this particular instance, if Akira could process the sounds as words with the way he didn't open his mouth all the way to say them). He then sits very still, letting his eyes search his entire field of vision while he figures out where he is and why it isn't entirely where he should be, and his eyes fall on Akira.]
[His attempt at saying "Kurusu" isn't much better than the mumbling bit about cheese cubes, because he sounds like his mouth is stuck together, which it may well be from the weird position he slept in. He scrunches his face, sits a little straighter, and tries again.]
Kurusu, shut that thing off.
[ Akira is already fumbling for the phone, but extremely inefficiently, given he's slinging his arm over his face to block out the sun. But then he hears Akechi's voice instead of Morgana, and Akira groans faintly, rolling over properly to grab his phone and turn the alarm off.
The upside of living at Leblanc was the free food and coffee. The downside is that Akira had slowly wound up with far more of a crippling caffeine addiction than he'd had when he arrived in Tokyo, and he practically slithers to his feet in a way that human beings shouldn't quite be able to move. He yawns and stretches, his shirt riding up to expose a good portion of stomach as he does it, and then he rubs vaguely at his face. ]
'M gonna make coffee.
The upside of living at Leblanc was the free food and coffee. The downside is that Akira had slowly wound up with far more of a crippling caffeine addiction than he'd had when he arrived in Tokyo, and he practically slithers to his feet in a way that human beings shouldn't quite be able to move. He yawns and stretches, his shirt riding up to expose a good portion of stomach as he does it, and then he rubs vaguely at his face. ]
'M gonna make coffee.
[The reason Akechi stares at that exposed expanse of skin has everything to do with his lack of conscious state and absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Akira is extremely nice to look at, thank you very much.]
[It's easy enough to excuse seeing as he actually looks more like he's staring through Akira than at him, but he definitely astral projected a little bit at the fact that his brain definitely thought the words "that's a nice belly button" while navel-gazing Akira Kurusu.]
Okay, [He shifts and swings his feet to the floor, and in the same way he had the night before on the stool in the cafe, he takes hold of the edge of the couch with both hands and stretches his shoulders up and backward. He then frowns at his arms, confused by the grey fabric, because he doesn't think he owns anything grey, until he realizes he's still wearing Akira's hoodie.] ...oh. I will... wash this for you. When I have a wallet.
[It's easy enough to excuse seeing as he actually looks more like he's staring through Akira than at him, but he definitely astral projected a little bit at the fact that his brain definitely thought the words "that's a nice belly button" while navel-gazing Akira Kurusu.]
Okay, [He shifts and swings his feet to the floor, and in the same way he had the night before on the stool in the cafe, he takes hold of the edge of the couch with both hands and stretches his shoulders up and backward. He then frowns at his arms, confused by the grey fabric, because he doesn't think he owns anything grey, until he realizes he's still wearing Akira's hoodie.] ...oh. I will... wash this for you. When I have a wallet.
[ Akira makes a vague noise of agreement before staggering down the first two stairs, waiting for Akechi to actually get to his feet and then staggering down the rest of the way to bustle about and make some coffee. They clearly both need it.
The entire ritual of making coffee helps wake him up by proxy, so it only takes about two minutes before he finally manages to reply. ]
It's fine. I'm sure it's still clean. [ Akira sets a cup in front of Akechi and a cup next to himself and watches the water slowly seep through the filter.
He leans over the counter, after a moment, reaching out to touch the bruise on Akechi's face. Not as bad as it could be, all things considered. ]
I think the ice helped.
The entire ritual of making coffee helps wake him up by proxy, so it only takes about two minutes before he finally manages to reply. ]
It's fine. I'm sure it's still clean. [ Akira sets a cup in front of Akechi and a cup next to himself and watches the water slowly seep through the filter.
He leans over the counter, after a moment, reaching out to touch the bruise on Akechi's face. Not as bad as it could be, all things considered. ]
I think the ice helped.
[A more rational part of his brain reasons he should have expressed to Akira the night before how poorly he functions before caffeine, but seeing as he forgot to do so, he's stuck in his decaffeinated morning haze with no means of explaining himself. He slides onto the stool closest to where Akira is working, folding his arms over the counter and very nearly dozing sitting up, which is about the only reason Akira gets as far as he does with touching him.]
[Even half-conscious, Akechi is not terribly keen on being touched, particularly not without proper warning.]
[He jolts, sucking in a sharp breath and reeling away from him, grabbing the edge of the counter and extending his arms straight. It's a good thing he did, too, because he almost counterbalances his chair right backwards.]
--What, [His heart thoroughly lodged in his throat from the sudden contact, it takes him a moment to register "I think the ice helped", connect it to Akira's hand having brushed his jaw, and dully, the brief soreness from clenching his jaw. He relaxes in fractions, slowly curling back down onto the counter.] Don't. [He shakes his head, because the rest of the statement is a jumbled collection of words in his brain like a scattered scrabble board, and he can't make sense of it through the morning haze and the abrupt startle of contact.]
[Even half-conscious, Akechi is not terribly keen on being touched, particularly not without proper warning.]
[He jolts, sucking in a sharp breath and reeling away from him, grabbing the edge of the counter and extending his arms straight. It's a good thing he did, too, because he almost counterbalances his chair right backwards.]
--What, [His heart thoroughly lodged in his throat from the sudden contact, it takes him a moment to register "I think the ice helped", connect it to Akira's hand having brushed his jaw, and dully, the brief soreness from clenching his jaw. He relaxes in fractions, slowly curling back down onto the counter.] Don't. [He shakes his head, because the rest of the statement is a jumbled collection of words in his brain like a scattered scrabble board, and he can't make sense of it through the morning haze and the abrupt startle of contact.]
Edited (withOUT, hello i speak english.) 2021-02-24 04:35 (UTC)
[ Akira reels back, eyes a little wider than he means for them to be. He should have anticipated that; he'd just... punched Akechi less than twelve hours prior, of course he didn't want to be touched by Akira first thing in the morning. Akira withdraws his hand, using it to rub at the side of his arm awkwardly. ]
...Sorry. [ Akira knows his apologies don't necessarily mean much to Akechi, but he'll give them anyway, especially when he should have seen it coming. He just wasn't thinking. It was too early, too automatic; he's too used to dealing with Yusuke or Ryuji or Sumire, who are all so affectionate and easy to touch and be touched by.
He looks back at the coffee, and decides it's close enough to ready. It's not the same quality that it'd be if he'd made it when he was properly awake, but it's decent enough, and the point is that there's caffeine in it. ]
Do you -- wanna drink down here? [ Akira asks, because he usually wanders up to take his first cup while he sits on the floor of the attic and contemplates the arduous task of getting dressed, but Akechi might prefer something a little more classy. ]
...Sorry. [ Akira knows his apologies don't necessarily mean much to Akechi, but he'll give them anyway, especially when he should have seen it coming. He just wasn't thinking. It was too early, too automatic; he's too used to dealing with Yusuke or Ryuji or Sumire, who are all so affectionate and easy to touch and be touched by.
He looks back at the coffee, and decides it's close enough to ready. It's not the same quality that it'd be if he'd made it when he was properly awake, but it's decent enough, and the point is that there's caffeine in it. ]
Do you -- wanna drink down here? [ Akira asks, because he usually wanders up to take his first cup while he sits on the floor of the attic and contemplates the arduous task of getting dressed, but Akechi might prefer something a little more classy. ]
[He pinches inward slightly, his shoulders bunching up around his ears, thoroughly disliking the awkwardness to Akira's own posture. He'd caused that, and he didn't like it, because Akira was supposed to be this strangely confident impregnable force, and he just didn't like that him simply barking at him to not touch him had caused him to apologize with such a gesture. It was wrong.]
[But anyway.]
[He processes the question with a squint, not entirely sure what he means by it, because where else was one meant to drink coffee? But in the end he shrugs his shoulders, curling inward to yawn without opening his mouth and scrub the heel of one hand over the un-bruised side of his face.] I seem to recall... telling you to go about your life as if I were not here. [He struggles to put the sentence together, and it shows, but he manages, somehow. Slowly.]
[Which is to say if you wanna drink your coffee on the floor upstairs, Akira, do it, he'll follow you and try not to spill his on the way.]
[But anyway.]
[He processes the question with a squint, not entirely sure what he means by it, because where else was one meant to drink coffee? But in the end he shrugs his shoulders, curling inward to yawn without opening his mouth and scrub the heel of one hand over the un-bruised side of his face.] I seem to recall... telling you to go about your life as if I were not here. [He struggles to put the sentence together, and it shows, but he manages, somehow. Slowly.]
[Which is to say if you wanna drink your coffee on the floor upstairs, Akira, do it, he'll follow you and try not to spill his on the way.]
[ Akira is still a little hesitant, but he heads back upstairs after a basic cleanup. Thankfully a pourover is a quick cleanup, and pretty simple, because he isn't sure he could manage much else when he didn't sleep enough the previous night and is now dealing with a very grumpy half-asleep Akechi, who manages to be as abrasive as he is endearing.
Which is just -- unfair, honestly. ]
They'll be h-- e-- he-- [ The word is temporarily lost by a very large yawn that's so wide it looks like it might hurt, only vaguely smothered by Akira's hand as he moves to set his coffee on the desk. ] --re within the hour, probably.
[ He smacks for his phone again, catching up on the group chat as well as his private conversations.
Futaba has sent him several memes. ]
Which is just -- unfair, honestly. ]
They'll be h-- e-- he-- [ The word is temporarily lost by a very large yawn that's so wide it looks like it might hurt, only vaguely smothered by Akira's hand as he moves to set his coffee on the desk. ] --re within the hour, probably.
[ He smacks for his phone again, catching up on the group chat as well as his private conversations.
Futaba has sent him several memes. ]
[He follows, clutching his cup to himself like it's precious (it is) and shuffling his way back to the couch, where he has to carefully fold himself up like a pretzel so he doesn't just set the cup down and curl back up. He sits very still again for a while, eyes closed and just hovered over his cup until Akira's yawnspeak has him opening his eyes to squint at him again.]
[He yawns without opening his mouth again, in stark contrast to Akira's Snorlax impression, and sips his coffee, hunkering down around the cup and making a vaguely affirmative grumble of a sound.] Small blessings in that your alarm gave us time to prepare.
[He yawns without opening his mouth again, in stark contrast to Akira's Snorlax impression, and sips his coffee, hunkering down around the cup and making a vaguely affirmative grumble of a sound.] Small blessings in that your alarm gave us time to prepare.
[ Akira sits, as mentioned, directly on the floor, because it's too early for him to deal with sitting at a desk and he doesn't trust himself not to spill coffee on the mattress if he isn't careful. ]
S'why I set it. [ This is a lie. He forgot to turn the alarm off, so it was mostly a lucky break, but Akira's luck tends to be extremely good until it goes disastrously bad.
There's rarely much in between. On the other hand, he's never died despite being killed that one time, so... ]
Wasn't sure how long you'd need for. [ Akira gestures vaguely, clearly attempting to communicate "hiding your bruise" but mostly kind of indicating Akechi as a whole, which is considerably harder to hide with concealer and chapstick. ]
S'why I set it. [ This is a lie. He forgot to turn the alarm off, so it was mostly a lucky break, but Akira's luck tends to be extremely good until it goes disastrously bad.
There's rarely much in between. On the other hand, he's never died despite being killed that one time, so... ]
Wasn't sure how long you'd need for. [ Akira gestures vaguely, clearly attempting to communicate "hiding your bruise" but mostly kind of indicating Akechi as a whole, which is considerably harder to hide with concealer and chapstick. ]
[Were it only that easy, to erase his existence with simple concealer and chapstick.]
[He grunts again, slowly waking up enough that the creases under his eyes lessen and he looks a little less hollow, and he slowly uncurls from the strange pretzel shape he's folded himself into on the couch.] Covering the bruise won't take long. Coffee takes longer. [Meaning, it takes him longer to boot up with coffee than it will take him to conceal don't feel, but whether Akira actually understands is neither here nor there.] You can't honestly tell me you've never broken mugs fumbling around like that.
[He grunts again, slowly waking up enough that the creases under his eyes lessen and he looks a little less hollow, and he slowly uncurls from the strange pretzel shape he's folded himself into on the couch.] Covering the bruise won't take long. Coffee takes longer. [Meaning, it takes him longer to boot up with coffee than it will take him to conceal don't feel, but whether Akira actually understands is neither here nor there.] You can't honestly tell me you've never broken mugs fumbling around like that.
[ Akira makes a slight face at that. ] Only one. I got a lecture. [ It was pretty early on, and Sojiro hadn't really warmed up to him much at the time, so Akira knows it wouldn't happen that way a second time around, but --
Man, did it suck at the time. ]
They're pretty resilient. [ They're designed not to shatter when old people accidentally knock them off the table, after all. ]</small
Man, did it suck at the time. ]
They're pretty resilient. [ They're designed not to shatter when old people accidentally knock them off the table, after all. ]</small
[That... tracks, with Akira's bizarrely positive luck. Akechi hums, nodding again, and continues to sip at his coffee, slowly shifting his posture and expression to appear more like how he is usually seen.]
Typically I don't think they are especially expensive, but Sakura seems the type to hold sentimentality in places unexpected. [He inspects his cup idly.] These look like they are quite old, so you may well have broken an important memory in the form of a cup. [Except he also knows Sojiro isn't stupid, and wouldn't put out important cups to be used by customers or the bumbling teenage idiot he was housing. He might just be trying to taunt Akira again, hard to say.]
Typically I don't think they are especially expensive, but Sakura seems the type to hold sentimentality in places unexpected. [He inspects his cup idly.] These look like they are quite old, so you may well have broken an important memory in the form of a cup. [Except he also knows Sojiro isn't stupid, and wouldn't put out important cups to be used by customers or the bumbling teenage idiot he was housing. He might just be trying to taunt Akira again, hard to say.]
[ Akira looks at his cup. Lifts it up over his head to inspect the bottom. Inspects the handle. Slowly rotates it in a full circle. ]
He probably keeps the special cups at home. [ Akira says this, finally, as though it's a conclusion he got to after considering several possibilities.
It doesn't seem like Akira is quite awake enough for Akechi's attempt at taunting to get through. It's kind of like trying to make a rock float. ]
He probably keeps the special cups at home. [ Akira says this, finally, as though it's a conclusion he got to after considering several possibilities.
It doesn't seem like Akira is quite awake enough for Akechi's attempt at taunting to get through. It's kind of like trying to make a rock float. ]
[Failed attempt number one of too many to count. He frowns, polishing off his cup and reaching out to set it on Akira's desk for the time being. He shifts his weight, stretching this way and that, and finally squints at Akira, trying to decide between keeping up appearances and removing his hoodie and continuing to wear it because it was, in fact, quite comfortable.]
...Why are you on the floor?
...Why are you on the floor?
It's too early to sit at the desk. [ Akira says this like it's the most obvious thing in the world; like it makes absolute and complete sense.
Also, Akechi is on the couch, and Akira can't get back in bed or he will fall asleep. It's even more precarious when Morgana is around, because he's extra cozy at all times and Akira is helpless to the sleep rays of his cat. ]
I can only sit there once I'm wearing clothes. [ Real clothes, not pyjamas. ]
Also, Akechi is on the couch, and Akira can't get back in bed or he will fall asleep. It's even more precarious when Morgana is around, because he's extra cozy at all times and Akira is helpless to the sleep rays of his cat. ]
I can only sit there once I'm wearing clothes. [ Real clothes, not pyjamas. ]
[He's always known Akira to be strange, but this sudden scenario of being forced to live with him is already uncovering all sorts of new oddities.]
[Like the fact that he appears to be entirely vapid before a certain time of morning.]
[He busies himself with gathering and folding the bedding he'd been loaned, setting it carefully on the floor beside his line of concealer, makeup sponges, chapstick and now a pain killer, and sits pointedly to one side of the couch.]
You are perfectly clothed, I'm beginning to think you just can't sit properly.
[Like the fact that he appears to be entirely vapid before a certain time of morning.]
[He busies himself with gathering and folding the bedding he'd been loaned, setting it carefully on the floor beside his line of concealer, makeup sponges, chapstick and now a pain killer, and sits pointedly to one side of the couch.]
You are perfectly clothed, I'm beginning to think you just can't sit properly.
[ Akira considers this for a long moment, looking at the empty spot on the couch and considering it. He could take the seat on the couch, but it still feels invasive to him, remembering Akechi's flinch back earlier. He doesn't want to risk getting too close again.
Instead, Akira reaches back and pulls his shirt off over his head. ]
Can't sit anywhere. [ Shirtless. Makes sense. This conveyed, he flops backwards to lean against the bed "frame" and down more of the coffee in one go than he should, given that the temperature is still only slightly lower than scalding. ]
Instead, Akira reaches back and pulls his shirt off over his head. ]
Can't sit anywhere. [ Shirtless. Makes sense. This conveyed, he flops backwards to lean against the bed "frame" and down more of the coffee in one go than he should, given that the temperature is still only slightly lower than scalding. ]
[Perhaps Akira is just vapid when at home,]
[Akechi spends a good amount of time reeling from the fact that Akira just... unceremoniously stripped his night shirt off without warning or reason, and watches him tip his cup back and swallow hot coffee like a human garbage disposal with a perplexed grimace.]
You are more of sitting everywhere, I'd argue. Put your shirt back on, unless you plan to loiter topless downstairs while I fix this bruise.
[Akechi spends a good amount of time reeling from the fact that Akira just... unceremoniously stripped his night shirt off without warning or reason, and watches him tip his cup back and swallow hot coffee like a human garbage disposal with a perplexed grimace.]
You are more of sitting everywhere, I'd argue. Put your shirt back on, unless you plan to loiter topless downstairs while I fix this bruise.
I'll get dressed. [ He just needs to do an impersonation of a slug for a moment longer. He sits there for a moment longer before he climbs back to his feet, and then he's putting his sleep shirt away to grab out his actual clothing. His casual clothing, since school isn't happening today.
His hands go to the band of his pants automatically and then he pauses vaguely, looking at Akechi with a delayed reaction like 'oh yeah, maybe he's not as chill about casual nudity as Yusuke and Ryuji'. ]
I usually change up here... [ Because the bathroom is a tight fit at the best of times, much less when tired and in the throes of being a gangly disaster in the morning. ]
His hands go to the band of his pants automatically and then he pauses vaguely, looking at Akechi with a delayed reaction like 'oh yeah, maybe he's not as chill about casual nudity as Yusuke and Ryuji'. ]
I usually change up here... [ Because the bathroom is a tight fit at the best of times, much less when tired and in the throes of being a gangly disaster in the morning. ]
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