no looky for real this time

[preordain]

Comments

[tearduct]

[Baby steps. His apology is quick because he is a lot more human, and has been, and has lived with humans in a more human life. He gets the slow process probably more now than he would have before.

Personal change is slow. Healing is slow. But they... have plenty of time? An eternity, it seems like.]

I know. We can. [It'd be as normal as the two of them are likely going to get.] You don't mind... if I spend the rest of time with you, right?

[He doesn't want the heartache of what happened to Kaoru and the others ever again. That sort of life, while fulfilling in certain ways, has tired him. It had scratched open old wounds of loss and pain. It had been so painful to endure.

He doesn't want anything like that again for as long as he lives. The fragile people who leave him behind as he had left Ryo.]

[preordain]

[ it's cute that akira asks if ryo minds when it's what he had wanted in the first place. granted, he gets why he's asking-- a lot has happened over the years that could have changed things. but it's still a little funny. ]

I don't mind, Akira.

[ even if akira ends up wanting to do some things by himself, even something as simple as going on a trip somewhere on his own, ryo wouldn't necessarily mind. ryo isn't clingy enough to expect them to spend every second together. ]

There's no one else I'd want to be with. [ jd meows. ] Yeah, sure, cat.

[tearduct]

[STOP, listen. He already knew Ryo's answer because it's Ryo, but it's fine. He has to be polite enough to ask... Maybe if he keeps being conscious of these things, Ryo will also learn... to do similar things too.]

His name is JD.

[He smiles lopsidedly and shifts so he can pick the cat up for a face kiss. Then he puts JD down on the desk beside the two of them.]

Please don't tell me he thinks his name is Cat because that's all you called him.

[preordain]

[ ryo just does a vague shrug motion. he is not denying it but he is also not confirming it. ]

He knows his name. I made sure that he's very intelligent.

[ how.....

but jd will get an idle ear scratch from ryo ]

[tearduct]

Uh-huh.

[THIS CAT MIGHT NOT KNOW ITS NAME, HELP HIM!! It's so stupid how he brightens a little more when Ryo bestows the kitty affection. This is his twice-dead cat...

He reaches out to scritch the other side of JD's head briefly.]

I thought you might like animals. Since... they're a little like demons sometimes.

[preordain]

I didn't say I liked them...

[ he watches akira pet the cat. ]

But they've done the least amount of harm to the planet, I think. I guess some species are far more intelligent than others, but you can say that about humans and demons too. And the cat is really good at alerting when Graham is nearby.

[tearduct]

[He will find the secret times when Ryo is sweet on this cat, and then he will bring it up later when Ryo least expects it......

His face turns exasperated and sour.]

That guy is still around...?

[He personally wasn't ever bothered by Graham like some of the others had been, but he still did not really like it.]

[preordain]

[ ryo didn't mind until graham was weird at him, and then he decided graham needed to die (again).

but he just looks amused. ]

He is. Beating him up can be very therapeutic when you're stressed.

[ ryo actually means killing him but he makes an effort not to say that word ]

[tearduct]

[He frowns in that same sort of disgusted way at Ryo's amusement. DON'T BE AMUSED. ALSO!!! He knows you're talking about murder, you asshole! But he cannot say anything against it because they are in hell, so it doesn't matter at all.]

Ryo...

[There is zero heat to this name call.]

[preordain]

[ he just smiles again because lol

and instead of answering, he reaches over to start fixing akira's hair. it's still messy from the flight over. ]

Is there anything in particular you want to do?

[tearduct]

[His eyes close. Still forever a sucker for having fingers in his hair. He puts the tips of his fingers on the desk on each side of Ryo, leaning his weight on them.]

I don’t know… Maybe take a nap.

[But then he would be asleep and miss the start of his time with Ryo.

Even if they would have plenty of time.]

[preordain]

[ he just nods his head. ]

Take my bed.

[ me waking up from a nap to the thread talking about naps ]

[tearduct]

[YOU WAKING UP AND AKIRA GOING TO SLEEP.

He slowly manages to open his eyes, but he unfortunately now looks slightly more drowsy because he had closed them while Ryo played with his hair.]

Okay.

[He should really at least pretend to modestly reject this idea, but no. He won’t.]

[preordain]

[ that's fine, it's what he expected.

he will move to slide off of the desk and then move to grab akira's arm to tug him after him. back to his room... just in case akira has forgotten how to get back there. ]

If you need anything, let me know. We can figure out more details later.

[ he is thinking about the finer details like how akira needs clothes and things..... ]

[tearduct]

[It’s good there is at least one braincell to still think about the finer things which Akira does not consider. He literally came back without a single thing to his name because what do earthly goods do him when he’s dead.

He stumbles along after Ryo, and JD trills while following the two of them.]

I’ll figure things out when I wake up.

[He starts pulling his shirt off over his head. SORRY TO RYO WHO IS SO GAY.]

[preordain]

[ unfortunately he is so gay and he just watches this happen. ryo sends a mental prayer into the void as he is thankful to see akira shirtless on day one.

anyway he snaps out of it. ]

If you need me for anything, just call out for me, okay?

[tearduct]

[Ryo is so fortunate that even time couldn’t get rid of his stupid. It has gotten rid of messy, though????

He neatly drapes the shirt so it won’t get badly wrinkled or be on the floor.

And then the idiocy returns as he starts taking off his pants.]

Okay. Don’t let me sleep too long? Like… an hour or two.

[preordain]

[ ryo just watches this too. thank you for being stupid, akira, he appreciates it.

he decides to let him sleep for two hours though... as a tweat. ]

Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on the clock. I'll just get some work done.

[tearduct]

[Look........... They're just a guy and a biblical nonbinary. It's fine......

He folds the pants by the shirt. The cat will probably get on top of them if the cat is not on top of him, but whatever.]

Okay.

[It dawns on him to be, like, WHAT WORK? except he gets distracted getting into Ryo's too big bed. This is unfortunate more now actually since he realizes it just smells like Ryo. Why didn't he just take the couch......

I forgot his wings were out, so I'm not sure how he got the shirt off, we're pretending. But this means he has to lie face-down in the bed, and he just.... fans them out over it. He's the most still, but then suddenly lifts his head and shoulders. WAIT.]

--Thanks, Ryo.

[preordain]

[ hehe

ryo will just reach over and run his hand through akira's hair again before pulling away. thinks about how ryo is technically still unaware that akira might have any lingering romantic feelings because SOMEONE is a LIAR so he is just going to do his gay pining from afar ]

Mm. Welcome home, Akira.

[tearduct]

[WHY ARE THEY STILL BOTH BEING MORONS? RYO? HE IS MOSTLY NAKED IN YOUR BED. God grant me the strength not to snap them over my thigh.

They will work on that later.]

...!

[Being welcomed home........

He's so surprised to hear anything like this (even though he SHOULDN'T be) that his upper half stumbles as he leans after the retreating hand, once it has gotten too far from reach. He drops his hot face in to the bed.]

[preordain]

[ ryo like, damn he still really likes hands in his hair huh.

but he watches this happen, amused, before just retreating from the room before he keeps pressing his luck here. he will likely take a picture of akira once he is asleep because some habits will never fucking die and ryo needs to restock his collection.

but he will give akira the two hours while occasionally peeking in to make sure he is still in there and this isn't some kind of hallucination ]

[tearduct]

[Ryo is so funny.

Somehow, it isn't a hallucination. Akira is there every single time, even when Ryo is being weird and taking his picture. For a while, he is asleep face-down with the wings out, and JD curled up in the center of his back.

Then another time, one wing is folded against his back while the other is still stretched out, and his head is turned to the side with both arms under the pillow. JD has curled up in the crook of his shoulder and neck against the back of his hair.

He is mostly like this the rest of the time, except for the lightly raised wing--like when you just stick your arm up in your sleep for no reason and hold it there, just with his folded wing.]

[preordain]

[ IT'S FINE.....

like promised though, ryo eventually comes back to the room to actually be useful. he sits on the edge of the bed and leans over to pick up jd and deposit the cat onto the floor. jd will probably hop back on later but it's fine.

he then just reaches over akira and shakes him on the shoulder. ]

Get up.

[ there are probably more loving ways to wake someone up but this is efficient ]

[tearduct]

[There are so many better ways to wake up the dude you love, but that's okay. POOR JD, tossed away like garbage. JD is offended, but is not in a mood to fight, so JD only sits nearby passively aggressively.

The wing that is stuck up shifts and folds down against him, out of the way. He stirs groggily, and his brows furrow. Gently, he grabs Ryo's wrist....... but then ends up simply holding onto it as he lies there unmoving, like he has maybe dosed off again.]

...