[He just... sinks to sit. Carefully, on his knees, mindful of his lack of anything under his yukata. He doesn't need to actually flash her. He keeps rotating the glass in his hands, and for a moment he just sits there, quiet.]
...we. We fight a lot. We're rivals, but it's... [He shakes his head, carefully rearranging himself so he can sit in his usual wretched posture, angled so he's not giving her a full frontal upskirt.] We were both drunk, and he's really important to me, I... got too close, and he got mad, and he pushed me over the railing because I taunted him without realizing. [He sounds so tired.]
[She's tired enough that her face goes blank while she's thinking; that's another thing she'd been working with Dazai on, trying not to make it so obvious when she's thinking hard about something. It's like she forgets how to make facial expressions when she's not consciously focusing on them.
Mentally, she's going through her Personas, trying to think if any of them match Akechi. She hasn't tried to get a sense for his Arcana, though now that she knows he has one, she might try a little harder. She flips past Metatron -- the Aeon, definitely not -- Sandalphon? No, not the Moon, that's Shinji. The Star, maybe?
That's a question for later, though. She shakes her head as if to mentally reset, hand falling away from where it had come to rest on her heart. Akechi isn't here right now. Akira is.]
...Did he get mad, or did he get scared? [It's another blunt question, but an important one, she thinks. It had hurt when Junpei had shouted at her, back when they had learned the truth of what had seemed like their inevitable death. It wasn't because he was mad at her, though; it was because he was scared. Maybe it was the same for Akechi.
Or maybe Akechi's just a jerk. She doesn't know him well enough to say for sure.]
[Akechi's definitely a jerk, but he's not just anything, unfortunately for everyone. Akira looks up, and the question doesn't really surprise him, so he nods.]
Both, I think. He's... You've not known him super long but I'm sure you see how weird he is about people being friendly and close to him. [He gathers himself up, folding the yukata under his knees.] So I think he got scared, and then got mad because that's easier. And possibly his default setting.
[She hums neutrally. She'd assumed it was just because he was an idol, and that seems like a tough business to make friends in, but-- Akira seems to be hinting it's something different, if it's something he doesn't feel comfortable telling her without Akechi's expression permission.]
And you can't check on him yourself in the morning because...?
[If Akira's even asking her to do it, it can't be because he's too angry to do it himself.]
...Akechi's spent most of his life alone. And I got mad, and told him I was gonna leave him alone like everyone else, because he kept trying to get me to. [He looks absolutely sick about it, but maybe she'll scold him. It won't fix it, but it'll help, that someone else can see and tell him he fucked up.]
[Her brow wrinkles, and to her credit, she doesn't answer immediately. She mulls it over for a moment, trying to see if there's any other conclusion she can reach, before asking in confirmation,]
So, let me get this straight. You got too close to him, he pushed you in a lake, and you got mad for being pushed into a lake and told him you were going to leave him alone...?
[Like, it must have felt very dramatic in the moment, but does breaking it into its parts make it feel more manageable? Because the answer is obvious to her, even if it's not exactly easy.]
[Yeah, that's fine. She'd do the same thing for Akechi if it came up, honestly. Sometimes feeling a little stupid is important to moving on!]
Oooh... I'll bring some painkillers when I visit him then, too. That's pretty normal for boys, huh?
[It's said almost fondly, because she's thinking about Whatever it is that Shinji and Akihiko had going on. Meanwhile, she can't imagine trading punches with Yukari or Mitsuru, even if the other girls managed to make her mad.]
So you're gonna talk to him tomorrow then. When neither of you are drunk.
[It's not a request, or an order. It's just a statement.]
[She shrugs. Again, she doesn't know Akechi terribly well, but she's talked to a lot of people throughout her life. It's not impossible to un-reverse a social link, just challenging and kind of uncomfortable.
Resting her hands on the bed, she tilts her head and offers him a tired smile.]
But you're gonna do it anyway, 'cause you don't think he actually wants to be left alone, right?
[She stands up and comes down to kneel closer to his level, tilting her head to try to meet his eyes in spite of his best efforts.]
Sometimes friends fight 'cause their emotions are really strong. Teammates, too. My team went through a really difficult time, [understatement of the century,] and... it took us a while to get back to the way things were, but after that? It was even better, 'cause we talked about it. We all resolved to do better.
[A pat to his knee to check if he's paying attention.]
Thanks for letting me in. [Literally and figuratively.]
[He picks his head up a little to show he heard her hey, but doesn't actually raise his eyes until she gets into the part of her little mini-monologue about her team taking a while to get back to how things were.]
[It's pointed, he feels, that she didn't use the word "normal". His eyes move to her hand on his knee, and he nods, humming faintly. He's out of words for the moment, but he does shift to pat the back of her hand in thanks.]
[He's kind of physical, isn't he? In terms of being okay with touch, that is. That's the impression she's getting, anyway; it's different from any of the members of SEES, who are either so socially awkward or standoffish that it's better not to get too close. Akira doesn't seem to be like that.
With Shinji, she'd made a point of asking first. With Akira, she just telegraphs her movements by shifting forward, making her intent clear before coming in close and wrapping her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder.]
It'll be okay. Get some sleep and go see him tomorrow afternoon. Even if it looks like a relationship is broken, you can repair it with some work.
[He's tactile, he's affectionate. He's just not good at seeking it when he needs or wants it. It's always about whoever he's reaching for, and it's not any specific or intentional neglect of himself, he just... fills all of his brain with everyone else, he's run out of disk space.]
[So even though she telegraphs her movements, even though he sees her coming and what she's doing, he's still and stiff for a moment. He blinks, making a wordless, stupid sound of confusion, and tilts his head slightly to rest against hers. It takes him a moment, but he relaxes, closing his eyes and hooking his chin over her shoulder in return. He doesn't fully return the hug, but it's acknowledged, at least, even if he's still processing why it's happening.] ...my relationship with Akechi has kind of always been broken, anyway. [Quiet, under his breath, but with a faint amount of humor in his tone.]
[She'd never broken one before, but she'd been able to get a sense for when she might say something wrong to break a Social Link. She doesn't know for sure if it's the same for Akira, if his relationship with Akechi is like that, but it still applies no matter what. She just hums and keeps her position where it is, trying to pour all the support she can into her hug.]
Then it might take more work than you think, but you'll be able to do it.
[It's dangerous to close her eyes, she's tired enough that she might fall asleep, but she does it anyway with a quiet sigh.]
You'll feel better once you sleep on it and talk to him. Promise.
[Either they'll totally break it off, or they'll work toward fixing it. Either way, it'll be better than the limbo he's caught in now.
[Warm... comfy... No, she can't sleep here. Shinji is still downstairs. Reluctantly, she pulls herself back when he leans back. It feels like her bones are made of lead as she does, but but she gives him a tired smile anyway.]
[She leans into his hand a little bit, her own small smile barely reaching her eyes. Then she plants a hand on the floor and shoves herself to her feet, wavering just a moment with the effort.]
Aragaki-senpai and I are gonna head back to the farmhouse. Come get me if you need me.
[It's not a question, it's a command. But also don't bother calling her charm because she will almost certainly sleep through that.]
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...we. We fight a lot. We're rivals, but it's... [He shakes his head, carefully rearranging himself so he can sit in his usual wretched posture, angled so he's not giving her a full frontal upskirt.] We were both drunk, and he's really important to me, I... got too close, and he got mad, and he pushed me over the railing because I taunted him without realizing. [He sounds so tired.]
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[She's tired enough that her face goes blank while she's thinking; that's another thing she'd been working with Dazai on, trying not to make it so obvious when she's thinking hard about something. It's like she forgets how to make facial expressions when she's not consciously focusing on them.
Mentally, she's going through her Personas, trying to think if any of them match Akechi. She hasn't tried to get a sense for his Arcana, though now that she knows he has one, she might try a little harder. She flips past Metatron -- the Aeon, definitely not -- Sandalphon? No, not the Moon, that's Shinji. The Star, maybe?
That's a question for later, though. She shakes her head as if to mentally reset, hand falling away from where it had come to rest on her heart. Akechi isn't here right now. Akira is.]
...Did he get mad, or did he get scared? [It's another blunt question, but an important one, she thinks. It had hurt when Junpei had shouted at her, back when they had learned the truth of what had seemed like their inevitable death. It wasn't because he was mad at her, though; it was because he was scared. Maybe it was the same for Akechi.
Or maybe Akechi's just a jerk. She doesn't know him well enough to say for sure.]
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Both, I think. He's... You've not known him super long but I'm sure you see how weird he is about people being friendly and close to him. [He gathers himself up, folding the yukata under his knees.] So I think he got scared, and then got mad because that's easier. And possibly his default setting.
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[She hums neutrally. She'd assumed it was just because he was an idol, and that seems like a tough business to make friends in, but-- Akira seems to be hinting it's something different, if it's something he doesn't feel comfortable telling her without Akechi's expression permission.]
And you can't check on him yourself in the morning because...?
[If Akira's even asking her to do it, it can't be because he's too angry to do it himself.]
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...Akechi's spent most of his life alone. And I got mad, and told him I was gonna leave him alone like everyone else, because he kept trying to get me to. [He looks absolutely sick about it, but maybe she'll scold him. It won't fix it, but it'll help, that someone else can see and tell him he fucked up.]
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So, let me get this straight. You got too close to him, he pushed you in a lake, and you got mad for being pushed into a lake and told him you were going to leave him alone...?
[Like, it must have felt very dramatic in the moment, but does breaking it into its parts make it feel more manageable? Because the answer is obvious to her, even if it's not exactly easy.]
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[Having it broken down doesn't make anything manageable, it just sort of makes him feel like an idiot, actually.] I punched him, too.
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Oooh... I'll bring some painkillers when I visit him then, too. That's pretty normal for boys, huh?
[It's said almost fondly, because she's thinking about Whatever it is that Shinji and Akihiko had going on. Meanwhile, she can't imagine trading punches with Yukari or Mitsuru, even if the other girls managed to make her mad.]
So you're gonna talk to him tomorrow then. When neither of you are drunk.
[It's not a request, or an order. It's just a statement.]
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...I don't think he's gonna want to talk to me.
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[She shrugs. Again, she doesn't know Akechi terribly well, but she's talked to a lot of people throughout her life. It's not impossible to un-reverse a social link, just challenging and kind of uncomfortable.
Resting her hands on the bed, she tilts her head and offers him a tired smile.]
But you're gonna do it anyway, 'cause you don't think he actually wants to be left alone, right?
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...sorry, you really didn't have to come in here and listen to all this.
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[It's a simple, honest answer as she shrugs again without losing her smile.]
Do you have anyone else you could say this stuff to?
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...'m still sorry.
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[She stands up and comes down to kneel closer to his level, tilting her head to try to meet his eyes in spite of his best efforts.]
Sometimes friends fight 'cause their emotions are really strong. Teammates, too. My team went through a really difficult time, [understatement of the century,] and... it took us a while to get back to the way things were, but after that? It was even better, 'cause we talked about it. We all resolved to do better.
[A pat to his knee to check if he's paying attention.]
Thanks for letting me in. [Literally and figuratively.]
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[It's pointed, he feels, that she didn't use the word "normal". His eyes move to her hand on his knee, and he nods, humming faintly. He's out of words for the moment, but he does shift to pat the back of her hand in thanks.]
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With Shinji, she'd made a point of asking first. With Akira, she just telegraphs her movements by shifting forward, making her intent clear before coming in close and wrapping her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder.]
It'll be okay. Get some sleep and go see him tomorrow afternoon. Even if it looks like a relationship is broken, you can repair it with some work.
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[So even though she telegraphs her movements, even though he sees her coming and what she's doing, he's still and stiff for a moment. He blinks, making a wordless, stupid sound of confusion, and tilts his head slightly to rest against hers. It takes him a moment, but he relaxes, closing his eyes and hooking his chin over her shoulder in return. He doesn't fully return the hug, but it's acknowledged, at least, even if he's still processing why it's happening.] ...my relationship with Akechi has kind of always been broken, anyway. [Quiet, under his breath, but with a faint amount of humor in his tone.]
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Then it might take more work than you think, but you'll be able to do it.
[It's dangerous to close her eyes, she's tired enough that she might fall asleep, but she does it anyway with a quiet sigh.]
You'll feel better once you sleep on it and talk to him. Promise.
[Either they'll totally break it off, or they'll work toward fixing it. Either way, it'll be better than the limbo he's caught in now.
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...thanks. For checking on me, too. [Because she already admonished him (gently) for apologizing, so it would be rude to continue.]
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[Warm... comfy... No, she can't sleep here. Shinji is still downstairs. Reluctantly, she pulls herself back when he leans back. It feels like her bones are made of lead as she does, but but she gives him a tired smile anyway.]
That's what friends do, right?
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You look pretty tired, you should get some sleep. [Morgana voice: go the f*ck to sleep!]
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[She leans into his hand a little bit, her own small smile barely reaching her eyes. Then she plants a hand on the floor and shoves herself to her feet, wavering just a moment with the effort.]
Aragaki-senpai and I are gonna head back to the farmhouse. Come get me if you need me.
[It's not a question, it's a command. But also don't bother calling her charm because she will almost certainly sleep through that.]
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I'm pretty sure I can make it through the night, but thanks. [A faint grin, this one a little more true and set in his features.]
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[She gives him a wink, trying to make him laugh, and pats his shoulder before heading for the door.]
I'll see you tomorrow. Message me after you've talked to him, okay?
[In case he got nervous about doing it, now he's going to know that she'll ask about it.]
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...yeah. I can't promise I won't sleep well into the afternoon, though.
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