stealhearted | are you hurting the one you love?

The good news is I'm usually top of my exams, and I have you and Makoto to tutor me in anything I don't understand. [ Which isn't much, shaky grasp on induction proofs aside. ]

We'll figure it out. [ Even if he has to stick Akechi in the garden with Haru. ]

[Plant him like a carrot. He huffs, shaking his head but staying leaned against him, nodding.] Your irrational optimism knows best, I'm sure.

With my optimism and your pessimism, we're bound to meet somewhere realistic in the middle. [ It's a little sassy, the way he says it, like he's aware of both of their flaws in thinking about the future -- but the truth is he hasn't felt this optimistic in a long time. It feels like there's a future he wants to be a part of, instead of just a life he's living because there isn't anything better. ]

"Somewhere realistic" sounds a bit far-fetched considering who we are. [He can handle sassy, because he can manage a little sass back. He steps sideways out of Akira's one-armed hug, then, looking back to the kitchen with a quirked eyebrow.] What are you making, anyway?

Carrot furikake. You grate it finely then dry it out and cook it with some seasonings, and it'll go really well on rice. [ Akira's plan to get Akechi to consume enough calories to sustain himself hinges on rice, because he's pretty sure Akechi will get tired of curry long before Akira does.

Mostly because Akira still isn't actually tired of curry. ]

[Because he made him promise he would eat rice later. He stares at the pan on the stove a while, then looks at Akira, and his expression is largely blank, if a little stunned.] ...you are far too young to have so many mothering instincts, I will never understand. [That's Goroese for Thank You, possibly.]

Given how many terrible parents we all have, someone's gotta help take care of our group. [ Haru's another great candidate, but Akira doesn't want her to strain herself fussing over Akechi... also, Akira just likes fussing. Especially over Akechi. It makes him feel all self-accomplished and happy. ]

It says it'll keep for a week or so, so it'll make a good snack.

[He grinds out an irritated sound that isn't half as annoyed as he hopes it would be, bashing his forehead into Akira's neck for a moment.] Yes, yes. I refuse to call you daddy, regardless of where our relationship goes in the future. [Because he knows how Akira wants it to.]

I'm not interested in being on that side of a daddy kink. [ Akira says it very matter-of-factly, like it's something he's considered (he has) but has no real interest in with Akechi (which is true). There is a hint of a smile in his voice, like he's trying not to laugh; the mere idea of either of them having an actual honest to god daddy kink within their myriad of issues is...

Hahaha. ]

I can call you senpai, though.

[It takes him a moment to process the meaning being that side of a daddy kink, and his eyes get wide despite him looking at a low corner of the bean wall. Yikes. Akira is a landmine, he thinks. ...an unfortunately attractive landmine. This is going to be a problem.]

...absolutely not. Particularly because I have no intention of teaching you anything or any other actions that would result in the title.

Does that mean I'm the teacher? [ Akira asks, sounding entirely too teasingly smug at the idea. It's true that he's definitely the more experienced of the two, and while he doesn't mind that, it is funny to imagine him having that kind of advantage over famed Detective Prince Akechi Goro.

It is, as Futaba would say, that gap moe. ]

I'll teach you well.

[Akechi turns his look of slight horror on Akira, instead, and shakes his head slowly.] No, that's... I think this conversation is over now. [Another time. He is not in the mindset to find this funny right now.]

Do we have an ETA on Sae-san? I should probably wash my face...,

[ Akira checks his phone. ] She's on her way, so you probably have time. I'll make her a cup of coffee if she's early. [ Since Sae legitimately enjoyed Leblanc as an establishment even before Everything Went Down, he's happy to fall back on old habits. ]

[Thank you for taking his Absolute Nope gracefully, Akira. Still somewhat stunned he instigated that conversation, Akechi wanders to the restroom and washes his face-- it's more of just hitting it with cold water a few times and trying to clear his head to present himself like someone who isn't constantly on the edge of an emotional breakdown he never allowed himself prior to literally being brought back from the dead, but it's fine, surely.]

[ Akira goes ahead and starts making a cup of coffee for Sae -- he can't quite remember what she likes, but he has a vague idea based on her personality -- and sure enough, it isn't long before there's a knock on the door.

There's probably a small amount of commotion audible to Akechi as Sae steps inside with both a large box and a duffel bag that she sets down, gingerly. ]

Did you take that on the train?

「 No, I took a taxi. 」

[Akechi hears it, in the process of drying off his face, and he presses himself to the wall like he's hiding, for a moment. Sae should in no way be more frightening than the rest of the Thieves. He never directly harmed her or her family. So he looks himself over in the mirror, straightening his tie, putting his gloves back on, making sure his hair is in place, and it's so disgustingly familiar-- it's exactly the routine he'd go through in dressing rooms before going out on a TV set. Not a hair out of place, his coat pressed and without wrinkles, his shoes shined enough you could nearly see your reflection in them.]

[Except that when he steps out of the bathroom, he doesn't school his expression quite enough, so he's just a touch paler than he was naturally, and he looks like he's spent half the day sleeping off an illness that sits deep in his bones, weighing him down. It's only there for a moment before he kicks himself, figuratively, and strides across the cafe to help her-- the box is full of his things, anyway, he belatedly realizes he should have had them offer to meet her somewhere so she didn't have to travel with it.] You'll have to let me pay for your taxi home, for all this, [Which is not exactly what he had planned to be the first thing he said to her after all this time, but there it is.]

「 I think I'm doing a little better than you are, financially, so just pay me back by staying out of trouble, alright? 」 [ Sae doesn't look particularly mad at him or upset to see him, but neither does she have the same look of stark relief that he's alive. It's more like she's come to grips with her own emotions in her own time, so she could be pretty well schooled by the time she saw him again. ]

「 I tried to get everything that seemed like it might be important. 」 [ The belongings she saved are largely things she would have saved if she was packing up her own life -- dishware that didn't match the monotonous decor of the apartment, any photos, important paperwork, clothing that seemed unusual or sentimental, anything that seemed like it might have been a gift. Since Akechi's apartment was fairly sparse to begin with, it winds up being most of his belongings. ]

Thank you. I made you some coffee. [ The fact that she was originally going to give all the belongings to Akira sits oddly on him, the knowledge a little heavier than he'd like. ]

[He wheezes softly, because she's the second one to refuse to allow him to return kindness in favor of him staying out of trouble, or keeping Akira out of it, and he can't pretend he isn't shaking slightly when he sets the box down on one of the booth's tables. He can't decide if he wants to open it.]

I appreciate it, Sae-san. [He's still staring at the box, hands still on the handles of it, but he winds up releasing it in favor of turning to the bar, to face them both. He didn't own much-- that she had a box and a bag confirmed enough to him that she had likely saved nearly everything that mattered, and he can't quite figure out how that makes him feel.] I hope it wasn't too much trouble to bring it all this way.

「 I've definitely hauled more inconvenient loads of paperwork around. 」 [ Sae's voice is a little wry as she takes the proffered coffee, sitting down on the barstool and crossing her legs. ] 「 I won't be staying long. It wasn't a problem to come here, but it's been fairly busy at work lately. 」[ With all of the chaos and Phantom Thieves and mental shutdowns... it's been a little much for her, though she still seems less stressed than she was at the height of her palace.

Akira looks at Akechi. ] Want me to take them upstairs?

[He makes a vaguely agreeable sound, trying to decide if he wants to join her at the bar or... what, he's trying to decide a lot of things. His brain is spinning its wheels, and it's obvious when he looks to Akira with a blank expression for a handful of seconds longer than it should really have taken him to process the question.] Oh-- no, I'll get them...

[He moves to the bag, carefully hefting it onto one shoulder and pinning it gingerly to his hip with one arm, holding the strap with the other. He can't remember if the bag was something he owned or not.] Was... do you need this bag back?

「 It's not urgent. It's my gym bag, but I haven't actually gone to the gym in long enough that I should probably cancel my membership. 」 [ Sae can also be self-deprecating, when necessary; she hasn't had a chance to go kickboxing in long enough that her gym trainer is going to let her have it when she finally shows up again.

Akira reaches out to heft up the box, which is the weightier of the two options. ]

You keep talking. [ He's taking things up. ]

[His hand on the strap of the gym bag tightens when Akira makes his claim for going upstairs, and Akechi almost protests. But that's... that's Akira's way of telling him something, maybe-- of a subtle push so Akechi will actually talk to Sae like he's always done. He knew Sae before he knew any of them, after all...]

[He looks from Akira to the bar, to Sae's back. And then almost dutifully, he moves to sit with a chair between them, the duffel still carefully secured against him. He's pretty sure he knows what's in it, from the weight of it and the way there's a solid rectangle cushioned by clothes. It's the thing he's least prepared to open. He folds one arm to rest his elbow against the counter while Akira ascends to the loft with the box of his other items, still keeping one against the strap of the bag.] ...thank you, truly. For keeping these things, and for bringing them.

「 I thought... there'd be nothing sadder than no one remembering you, you know? No matter what you'd done. And I figured he'd be the kind of person to want to remember you, so I was planning to give it all to him before he left town. Glad it worked out this way instead. 」 [ Sae offers him a small smile before she takes a sip of her coffee. ]

「 It's good that you've got someone in your court. I'd offer, but I think the last thing you need is a mid-career change defense lawyer. 」 [ Which is an offer in of itself, that she imagines Akechi can catch, without outright putting it there to be rejected, for both of their sakes. ]

[On the contrary, he thinks there would have been nothing better than no one remembering him. It would have made this all so much easier, all up until the part where Akira Kurusu refused to forget him, to the point that he couldn't stay dead. He offers a strained sort of chuckle, nodding and curling his fingers tighter still around the strap of the bag where it rests against his shoulder.] Kurusu is... a force to be reckoned with, as they say.

[He doesn't quite register what she's saying at first, raising his hand from where it rests against the counter to wave her off until the words sink into the folds of his brain and he stalls, slowly giving her an ugly little smile that isn't really a smile at all, just a grimace turned up at one corner.] Certainly no more than you want a fake detective murderer hanging around to nearly destroy everything you stand for a second time. [It's posed carefully, just as hers is-- he can't say he'd kill for the chance, but the idea that Sae would be willing to let him work with her again turns his stomach in as much ugly, terrible self-loathing as it does in excited potential.]

「 On the contrary. Even while you were trying to kill him, you were still doing exceptional paperwork. 」 [ It's said with a hint of humor, but it's no less genuine -- or true. Even if Akechi had been faking the bulk of his cases, and near the end, had been part of the sabotage against Sae to force her into a palace, he'd always done good work, and they'd always worked well together.

Sae understands everything that he's done wrong, of course, and acknowledges how weighty his sins are -- but she's not a prosecutor anymore, and it's really up to the kids to forgive him or seek any retribution for the crimes that are well outside of the real world legal system. ]

「 You've always been the sort of person to rise to the occasion. If you were presented with a real mystery to solve, I imagine you'd still solve it with any problems. Not that I think you're intending to go back into the show business, of course. 」

[ There's a small amount of exasperation in her voice there, because it's been an absolute press circus nonstop, for her included, and she cannot imagine what Akechi's life had been previously...

It's exhausting to think about.

Meanwhile:

Akira is studiously setting the box next to the couch and then checking his phone to get them a minute to talk. ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject