[KATY PERRY'S HOT N' COLD PLAYS IN THE BG] closed to Goro Akechi

[redreigning]

Who? disaster boys
What? good!ren takes akechi for the sushi pissed!ren invited him to
When? sometime during easter event idk
Where? nova city

( this nagging sensation that ren needed to find the him that walked out of the room hasn't dissipated in the least, even over the course of a few days past. it really doesn't help that he also feels the need to stop and help every single individual he comes across that's in need of it, this has really eaten into his time.

a new approach might help, which is what finally takes him out of central genessia and into the gateway that leads to nova city. this place is enormous, he can't just keep walking around the same area and expect to run into the other him by sheer luck. his luck never quite works the way he'd like it to anyway. it's gotten him to the desired outcome on more than one occasion, sure, but the ride there is usually...not what he expected.

for instance, he's looking for his other, but instead luck brings him to the back of another familiar head of hair, the sight of which immediately stops him in his tracks. )

Akechi...?

( his pulse trips. who would have thought he'd run into akechi again so soon, and of all the places he could have chosen to investigate? that luck, man.

there's a conscious effort to raise his voice (against this weird need to keep it down and polite lately) as he hurries to catch up with him. )

Ah - Akechi!

( hi akechi, guess who doesn't remember dick about the salty way he treated you. )

Comments

[misalignment]

[ Now he has his hand. There's a momentary regret he's wearing gloves, that's following by self-rationalizing that it's far better to have them on. Don't touch him. He doesn't know what that means. ]

We did. [ He looks over his shoulder at the restaurant then back at him. ] I see... [ Dully, lowering his lids: ] What an evasive way of answering. [ He sighs and shakes his head. ] My type is honest people. [ No, it's not. ]

[redreigning]

( ren knows what it means: it means akechi's fingers get squeezed when ren laughs. ) You think? I really don't, though. You can miss out on something great, if you limit yourself to one type of person. ( if he had to say something on it though, ren supposes he has a Bad Habit of collecting things no one else wants... he sweats a little at the honesty thing, scratching his cheek sheepishly. is that a reference to before? ) Aha, does that mean I'm out of the running? ( had he his cattier side, he might have actually Laughed Out Loud in a way that wouldn't have been polite at all. akechi and honesty - what a story, mark! but as it is, ren flashes half a grin, taps the toe of his shoe against the floor. ) Well, I can honestly say that I'm glad you're here. When you're on our side ( wait... ) when you're on my side, I feel like there's nothing we can't do. So like I said ( he tugs him by the hold he has, smiling expectantly up the three centimeters of height between them ) don't leave me behind, okay?

[misalignment]

[ He's wearing a soft smile. A rarer one that he isn't entirely aware of. Watching his hands and noting the grip on his fingers because looking at Ren while he's laughing is hard to focus on suddenly. ]

Is that how you have such a varied collection of friends?

[ Ren's collection of misfits. Akechi doesn't know them but he knows Ren has them by the thieves idly mentioning something (they get their weapons from an ex-mob member? the teacher is a maid? a child taught him a better way to shoot a gun?) and the doctor has had her coffee next to his seat. This is someone that easily connects with just about anyone. He never could. Another thing on the list of reasons he can be envious of him. ]

[ A tilt of his head, intentionally smiling wider. Isn't it ironic? ] Perhaps. But I suppose everyone else is too.

[ Our side. Eyes down. My side. Up. Back on the face, searching it again. Searching and searching and trying to find the lies. They would make a formidable team. If they met sooner, nothing could have held them back. He really does believe this. Ren seems to have noted it too.

But he already left. ] Ah.. ha. You're making it quite difficult to do with that grip on me.

[redreigning]

( is that why? he has no idea how he forged so many bonds, when he couldn't have done a quarter of it in the sixteen prior years before this one. honestly, most of it just felt like luck - wrong place, right time, and any variations that follow. he's lucky. his luck never quite works the way he'd like it to - but he's lucky. ) Nah. ( shakes his head. ) I'm just super popular on Frndr. ( swipe right on him, akechi... the playful atmosphere relaxes him as he watches akechi back, following the flick of his gaze with an interested, quietly patient one of his own. to this version of him, there's nothing he needs to hide, no reason he shouldn't pin his heart directly to his sleeve and no reason akechi can't stay by his side like the others. be part of his misfits. despite feeling that way though, his grip is certainly as firm as akechi calls it out to be. in the flattest voice, but with the most innocent smile: ) Oh no. ( ren doubles down, snatches akechi's second hand so he has both in his grip. ) He's discovered my plot...! ( good luck holding any guns now asshole. )

[misalignment]

[ Ren is lucky to the point of it being unfair. Akechi was always incredibly unlucky. Right place, wrong time, and any variations that follow. It never works. Never. He had only been giving himself a false sense of hope that it ever could. ]

Ah. That explains a lot. I don't believe I downloaded that one.

[ Application not supported on this device. Please upgrade to a better model.

It's playful. Like cats. Like sitting in Leblanc. Like exchanging silly comments in Mementos. This is what having a friend should be like but there's a point where it has to turn on them both. He doesn't remove the gaze. It holds. ]

[ His grip gets a little tighter back. A small squeeze of his own hands while they're both captured. He realizes he's doing. Tears his gaze away from the smile and has them go slack. ]

How nefarious. I'm trapped.

the only unfair thing about this...that icon (*꒦ິㅿ꒦ີ)

[redreigning]

You are. ( without missing a beat, or the way he's squeezed back. akechi breaks eye contact and loosens his hold, but even that doesn't seem to deter ren from his antics. you can practically see the three little ♪'s pop out of his head when he brings akechi's hands up to his mouth. just sort of smiles behind his fingers, a mischievous look beneath the fringe of his bangs. the dastardly villain playfully taunting the hero he's captured. ) And I won't let you go. No matter how much you struggle. ( not just a tease. there's a promise there, deeper and more nuanced than ren may entirely understand at the moment, it lingers behind the gentle loosening of akechi's fingers cupped over his own. not lowering them, but akechi can draw them back for now if he wants because: ) Sushi is the only exception.

look at it. (๑❛ꇳ❛๑)

[misalignment]

[ Anything Ren is doing while he has his hands is allowed to play out, if just to see what will happen. Akechi has simply become an observer here. Watching like a hawk. Like a child seeing a damn balloon for the first time, all wide-eyed and slightly in awe. It's fascinating. Look at that smile. The son of a bitch. ] That sounds like a threat.

[ And a flattering comment all at once. People usually drop him so quickly. And he usually hates being trapped. The grip is lost on the opposite end and he pulls his hands back. ] Ah. I almost thought you were going to kiss the prince's hands to better swear such an oath. Lost opportunities.

[ He purposefully says it like he's disappointed, shaking his head and sighing after his words. ]

Shall we go in?

remember that you made me do this

[redreigning]

( in his right mind, with all proper pieces - hurt, power, anger - in place, ren would have something sharp to say to that. all of that. should i make it look like one, too? i would, but i don't see any princes around here. sorry, i don't like the taste of murder in my mouth. he'd say it with a grin, tip his head down just enough to show akechi the thirst for a fight in his eyes, over the rim of his lenses. none of that happens. there are no words at all. what happens is this: ren cants his head at the word kiss, nothing readable on his face aside from curiosity, an ever-present interest, the touch of a smile that gauges a joke. then, without warning, he tilts forward and lightly bumps the side of his head against akechi's. it's a brief nuzzle, lasts maybe two seconds, before he's sliding off to the side again, beckoning akechi with wide eyes and a sweet smile. yes, let's. )

[misalignment]

[ He expects a snappy comeback to that. It's part of how Ren might work. There's a back and forth of witty remarks - sharp as a knife and twice as hurtful sometimes. But he doesn't get one. Instead the reply is an action, which could speak louder than words.

Not that he's interpreting what the action is supposed to be saying. The words are lost in translation and only succeed at making his face feel hot. What does that mean? That Ren is an actual cat? He rubs the back of his head, making an attempt to just laugh the confusion off. ] You remain an enigma.

[ He'll hold the door open for him. ]

[redreigning]

( it's called affection, akechi, it's not that deep, and the more you let him get away with it, the more inches he's gonna take. ie: how he slips under akechi's arm that's holding the door so he can pull the other boy in along with him, just barely fitting the both of them through the entrance. ) Does that mean you're trying to figure me out? ( hip-to-hip, one hand wraps at akechi's waist, the other grabbing the hand hanging off his shoulder. this is honestly the most blatant touching he's done in years and he's going to kill himself for it later - when he is himself again. ) I think you're more of one. ( mercifully, he disentangles from akechi and slips away so they can grab seats, but then looks up at him again. ) You can ask me anything you want. ( beat ) Goro. ( THE AUDACITY )