stealhearted | are you hurting the one you love?

[Maybe stop having weird creepy sex dreams about him?? Akira stop being horny challenge, the sequel.]

[He scrunches his face at the offered omurice, not especially in distaste so much as he's just confused about the single-plate scenario. He wanders to him and sits, setting his mug by his feet to carefully claim the plate anyway.] What is this, some kind of honeymoon effect of breakfast? You're strange. [He's still holding the plate between them, anyway.]

I figured it was easier than making two plates. I'll eat what's left over. [ Because, see, re: Akechi finish your fucking food challenge. He's gonna get on a bike to try and cross Tokyo and immediately collapse because he hasn't been eating well enough or working out climbing rocks or whatever. ]

[He just looks sort of bothered by that, cutting into a corner of the omurice.] Absolutely not. You made it, help me eat it while it's hot. [Stubborn.]

[But yeah, he'll probably wind up fucking himself over with the way he eats. It's fine, let him. He deserves it.]

[ Akira just offers him a smile, but digs in. He'll sit down properly to eat, at least, and won't just sit in the middle of the floor -- in part because he's realize Akechi is a slow riser, and so Akira, as always, automatically changes himself a little to fill in the gaps. ]

Sure. If you need more, I can make more, though.

[He notices-- slow of a riser as he is, Akechi is still perceptive even at his worst moments. He narrows his eyes as he chews, cutting into a second bite with his fork.] ...I won't, I don't eat much in the mornings. [Or at all, but it's fine.]

You don't eat much at all. Don't you have to build muscle for rock climbing? [ Bouldering, whatever. Akira doesn't know the exact nuance of how Akechi spends his free time climbing large rock-shaped objects. Like, they're in the middle of Tokyo, why did he have such a weird hobby?

But Akira eats a little slower, just to make sure that Akechi has his fill before Akira polishes it off. He's kind of a human garbage disposal. ]

[He hums, the sound overall in agreement, but doesn't really reply at first, just chewing and claiming smaller and smaller bites of the omurice.] You aren't wrong, though I've done all right thusfar, and it's not like I can exactly pick that hobby back up, at present.

You had a gym, right? We could go back. [ Akira's not exactly opposed to going to the gym -- he's done it with Ryuji often enough, and rock climbing isn't uninteresting. Also he'd try most things if Akechi was there, because he's gay and romantic like that. ]

[Another wordless sound of overall agreement, and he sets his fork down after eating maybe a third of the omelet.] Maybe. Gleeful as you may be about it, I'm still considered a dead man to most. Suddenly returning to pick up an unused and likely expired due to nonpayment gym membership seems... unnecessary.

You were just... missing. We'll have to... uh... hack into the government files, make sure there's no one trying to kill you, get the ones who might try to do so arrested... then we can bring you back to life. [ He makes it sound easy! That's a lie. Even from Akira it doesn't sound easy, but it's at least a twelve step program to recovery, which is probably more than Akechi has, all things considered.

Which: yes, Akira has given great thought to the people who are probably still out there ready to murder them both, and has set Futaba up making sure that no one, you know, storms Leblanc with a pipe bomb or anything. ]

It's not a top priority, I'll grant you.

[He affords him a smile for his trouble, shaking his head and crouching forward to claim his coffee.]

I was so busy for so long, it's not like I mind laying low for a while.

I hope you're prepared, because when Futaba finds out you have free time she's going to make you watch so much Featherman. [ Akira knows that Futaba and Haru are both kind of sore subjects for Akechi -- and he's one for them -- but he also knows that Futaba and Haru are both the sort of people to slowly push themselves to forgive him.

It'll help if he apologizes, one day, but Akira thinks that that's still... a minute away, if only because Akechi probably doesn't want to ugly cry on them. ]

[He makes a terribly put-upon show of groaning and rolling his eyes, throwing an arm up to his forehead and holding his mug of coffee out.] Oh, no, whatever shall I do, trapped at the mercy of an otaku. [He almost smiles again, that funny little half-expression he gives when he can't quite commit to honest happiness, and he pulls the zipper on Akira's hoodie down just a little, splaying his hand across the worn emblem.] You picked this shirt out specifically for me, whether it was because it was comfortable or because it has Featherman on it. It's been years since I've been caught up, it... If Sakura would allow it, I'd gladly suffer a rewatch with Navi.

It was kind of both. [ Akira has, in his head, a chart of things that his friends all like, cross referenced and listed like an excel sheet, and he remembers all the things that Akechi likes and he makes an effort to utilize this knowledge for the dastardly, insidious task of making Akechi happy. ]

She'll make you watch all of it and then talk to her about her crazy theories. I got lost when she started talking about astral projection last time.

[Absolutely villainous, Akira. The horror. He nods, smiling and taking a long sip of his coffee, humming just after.]

Smart as she is, I'd love to hear her insight on a lot of it, anyway. [He frowns into his mug, suddenly oddly shy.] ...which I suppose is. Relatively normal, in the scheme of friendships? I apologize in advance for how atrocious I am at this.

If it helps any, she's pretty terrible at it too. It's the thought that counts. [ Futaba and Yusuke both excel in meaning well and having terrible execution by virtue of being exceedingly weird. Akira's used to it, of course, and so are the rest of the Phantom Thieves, these days, but Akira thinks Akechi might actually veer a little closer to them by virtue of that.

It's easier to get along with people who know what it's like to be on the outside, after all. ]

She seems to get along just fine with the lot of you, though. [He doesn't finish his line of thinking, there, going back to his coffee, but there's a strange anxious sort of hope in his stomach that maybe... Maybe he can actually make this work. If they're interested and willing in collecting him... It would be rude, at this point, to refuse, right?]

We were all kind of outcasts, you know? Even Ann. [ Every single one of the Phantom Thieves had few to no friends, prior to the formation of their little group -- Akira included. He thinks that's why it's so important for all of them. He thinks that might be why they all want to help Akechi, even after everything -- it's hard not to see a little bit of themselves in him, probably.

Just... angrier, with more bullets. ]

Outcasts aren't murderers. [He spits it without thinking, reflexively, and flinches when he realizes it, grimacing at himself and curling around his coffee mug.]

Yeah. But we were still outcasts. [ Akira decides it's better to just -- not acknowledge it. Akechi's hatred for himself is more potent than anything they could ever have for him, which is probably the best kind of justice for someone like him.

Akechi knows that Akira is there for him, regardless, at this point: sitting there drinking coffee despite everything that happened between them. That's probably a better salve than any other words could be. ]

[He has his days. Sometimes he wants Akira to acknowledge it, wants someone to agree, someone to be angry at him. He's figuring out that he isn't going to get that, at least not from Akira, probably not from any of them, not long-term. He might get one good solid outburst from Futaba or Haru, but it'll be a one and done sort of scenario. They want to forgive him.]

[It's almost enough to make him want to forgive himself.]

I'm sorry, it's entirely too early for me to be being ugly like that.

[ Akira shrugs, gathering their plate and his empty cup idly. ]

You're working through it. [ Which is to say that while Akira does generally prefer all outbursts of self-hatred to be after the second cup of coffee, he's not exactly going to hold it against Akechi.

In part because he isn't functioning enough to hold anything against anyone. ]

You want another cup? Today Sae-san's coming over, and there'll probably be an entourage.

[He stands on reflex, nodding.]

I'll need it, likely... [He's hoping it'll be a good turnout for his belongings, at least. He's... less enthused about facing Sae herself.] Though I suppose it's probably better to just get it over with and have the others come when they will. Forcing them to wait is just going to make them more antsy.

Nonstop meme train every moment they're not here. [ He's definitely quoting Futaba, who has been making all sorts of ridiculous Akechi memes the entire time she's been muted in the group chat. Where did she even get all these photos? The world may never know. ]

Wash these while I get dressed? Then I gotta open. [ Since he's skipping school one more time to test the boundaries of their situation before he tries to actually endure an entire day of school. He has to do something useful with himself. ]

Non-stop... [He's so concerned right now. He claims the plate and Akira's mug, nodding and making his way downstairs to do just that, and making a note to check his phone when he has the chance. When the dishes are clean and set aside to dry and the borrowed apron hung back on the peg near the sink, he dries his hands and comes back upstairs.]

Do you want me to stay up here...?

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