[ closed ] simmer for seven days

[seafloor]

WHO: kaito and pals
WHAT: post-surgery and mid-month event shenanigans
WHERE: around town
WHEN: from april 12 to the end of the month
WARNINGS: potential discussion of body horror; will update as things Go On

Comments

[immortalpoet]

What if I don't like anything you're serving? Can I make requests?

[seafloor]

Nope!

Unless it's for dietary restrictions or allergies, if you don't like what the chef's cooking then you come back tomorrow.

I think it'll be pretty decisive—which means it'll be interesting.

[immortalpoet]

I think you just want an excuse to be mean.

[mean chef...]

[seafloor]

You and I both know I don't need an excuse for that.

[ Grinning. ]

[immortalpoet]

[A HEAVY SIGH LIKE YEAH THAT'S WHAT HE EXPECTED YOU BASTARD]

I want discounts.

[seafloor]

[ Grin Becomes Smirk. ]

Seeking preferential treatment? What'll your employees say when they find out?

[immortalpoet]

Oh, they'll deal with it.

[h eh]

[seafloor]

Oh, go a little harder with that. You're so close to a smile...

[immortalpoet]

I haven't smiled once in my life.

[#serious(?)]

[seafloor]

I'm almost willing to believe that...

But I suppose it gives me work to do.

[immortalpoet]

You're making it sound like your homework.

[seafloor]

Should I call it my duty instead?

[immortalpoet]

You can find better duties than that. What a waste of time.

[seafloor]

Yeah, well, I'm a disaster.

[ Boy oh boy is he about to prove it this week. ]

[immortalpoet]

Join the line.

[WE'RE ALL FUCKING DISASTERS!!!]

[...He glances to the side.]

You're not special.

[seafloor]

[ He shifts to the side, smirking. ]

We're all special, Vergilius. That's why we aren't.

[immortalpoet]

Didn't take you to be the philosophical type.

[But no, that makes sense for him, he thinks.]

You're....a lot like water yourself, aren't you.

[seafloor]

Believe me, I try not to be. My hands have always been better public speakers than my mouth.

[ Scoffing. Kaito peeks a gold open afterward and puts on a smaller smile. ]

What makes you think that?

[immortalpoet]

What, because of how much you use them to gesture and touch people?

[MISTER SHOULDER NUDGE AND ALL]

[But the question makes him gaze out a little pensively.]

Water can take on the form of its container. It flows. It ebbs. It can storm up, it can be calm. You move here and there. But to hold you in one place, even in a container...it difficult. And you want it that way, don't you?

[seafloor]

Maybe that's part of it. [ And just because he mentioned it, Kaito gives his shoulder a pat.

But the analysis shuts him up. Truth be told, he's heard most of the answer before. Mayne times before, in fact. That unfailing flexibility of his is probably how he's stayed alive, or won over as many men and gods as he has. He's even been told that he's difficult to pin down, literally or otherwise.

It's the last sentence that punches the air out of his lungs.

You want it that way, don't you?

The last time he heard anything close to those words was on a cold December morning, minutes before dawn. ]

"You didn't 'let Itsuki have me', Kaito. You ran away from me."

The speaker in question smothers her cigarette and smiles that same shining smile that stole his heart a decade ago. Kaito hunches over the railing, finishing off his own, refusing to look at her.

"You ran away because you didn't want to be tied down. Whatever the reason, you didn't want to commit. I bet you still don't. ...And that's okay, Kaito. You don't have to."

Golds snap to meet grays that somehow shine far more vibrantly than his own. As he turns, his cheek smushes against the woman's index finger.

"Just be honest about it. Be honest with yourself, and be happy."

[ An eternity passes in half a minute. Kaito flashes Verg another one of his trademark obnoxious smiles, but something heavy weighs down on his shoulders. ]

...Yeah, maybe.

Water's tricky like that, isn't it?

[immortalpoet]

...

[He recognizes that look. He has no insight into people's emotions like he does, and neither does he have telepathy. But the fact is, when people are like you in more ways than one, you recognize your own habits like nothing else.]

[His own hand moves to the man's shoulder, clasping it.]

Ahn for your thoughts, Kaito.

[seafloor]

[ Kaito glances sidelong to the hand. After a beat, he tilts his head to lean on it. No taunting smile, no eye contact.

He eventually pulls away to face Verg. ]

Thinking about someone from my past, is all.

—If you knew your presence would bring someone pain, what do you think the correct course of action is?

[immortalpoet]

[...]

[The man's head rests against his. It twitches, momentarily, the fingertips brushing against the man's neck.]

[But he's already pulled back.]

Mm.

[What a question. His eyes dim.]

...I'd likely remove myself from their lives.

[seafloor]

[ Noted for later consideration. ]

Coward.

That's probably the first thing someone might call you. Maybe it's how you see yourself. I wouldn't even disagree.

...But I also understand.

As someone who's made it his responsibility to protect others, it's only logical to acknowledge distance as a form of protection.

It will hurt them, sure. It'll probably hurt you more. It's wholly unfair.

But it's a necessary burden to bear, I think.

[ Kaito finally turns his gaze back up to the Fixer, smiling a bit too knowingly. ]

Agree? Disagree?

[immortalpoet]

[Of course. That's all true.]

[But it's also about his sins. He can't have what he wants. It must always be out of reach.]

[This is his penance.]

[He exhales, and the breath sounds rough in his throat. Is this what other people see, though, looking at him?]

Regardless if I agree or disagree...would you say that you punish yourself, Kaito?