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[phantomshow]

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[undyingcrow]

[Ren may be resting in his van when a shadow passes overhead.

Not long after, there's a thump on the roof.

Whatever could it be?]

[phantomshow]

[Ren is not so much resting in the van as he is lounging in the back portion, rear doors open for airflow, puzzling through a crossword. The thump on the roof could be anything, but Ren is not especially concerned, or at least not outwardly. If something’s here to attack him, might as well get it over with.]

Door’s open, [he calls up to the roof, deadpan]

[undyingcrow]

Are you certain that's wise?

[Hey, a familiar voice. Moreover, Akechi drops down before long, raising an eyebrow at how... casual Ren's behaving.]

[phantomshow]

[Wise? No, probably not, but Ren has dialed up the recklessness a bit as of late. A detective of Akechi’s skill can certainly see hints of this in how Ren’s knuckles are bruised and his bottom lip has a healing split.]

Oh … hey.

[He nods at Akechi, expression impassive. Now that those weird empathy overdrive effects have faded, he’s back to his usual masking. Maybe the masking’s a bit tighter, so as to keep the anxiety over how they left things when they last talked under wraps.

The glasses are back on his face too, not doing a great job of hiding the dark circles under his eyes. Ren pushes the glasses up his nose. Now that Akechi has sought him out, Ren’s not sure if it’s worse than the waiting.]

What’s bonkin’?

[undyingcrow]

You look like shit.

[Despite the harsh words, there's a sliver of concern in his voice. He scans over Ren, taking in all the troubling signs.]

I suppose this is what I get for keeping you waiting.

[Again.]

[phantomshow]

[Ren huffs a dry almost-laugh. Classic Akechi. He’s not wrong, though. Ren does look like shit. He feels like shit too. And he’s definitely not touching the keeping you waiting thing.]

Nice to see you too, Detective. Actually - I’m glad you stopped by, I have something for you.

[Ren flips the crossword book and pencil to the interior of the van and turns to the dark blue shoulder bag at his side, digging around the interior and retrieving two packets of Takemedic from within. He holds them out for Akechi to take.]

[undyingcrow]

[Well, far be it from Akechi to turn up supplies. He accepts them carefully in his taloned hands.]

Just make sure to save some for yourself.

[Ren is the one who's worse off, after all.]

So... I have been thinking.

[He might as well offer some small mercy here, if only to help Ren get his shit together. ...Not just for that reason, but still.]

[phantomshow]

I did.

[He has one dose left. And he’ll probably end up giving it to someone else he thinks needs it more, because that’s just how Ren is.

Ah. Here we go. Preemptively, Ren’s heart drops into his stomach. Best to just get this over with. He told Akechi he’d support whatever decision he made, and he intends to stick to that, no matter how much it will hurt to be rejected. Ren retrieves the pencil from the van’s floor and sets to twirling it absently through his fingers]

Yeah? That’s kinda your thing. Thinking.

[undyingcrow]

You know what I mean.

[Ugh... Honestly, Ren.

Well, Akechi... invites himself in, taking a seat, because why not at this point?]

So. What would you expect from me, exactly? You said before that you want me as I am, but is that truly enough for you?

[phantomshow]

[Ren moves to the side to make space for Akechi, kicking his legs out over the edge of the bus to dangle aimlessly while he sits, slouched. He already feels defeated.]

I told you, I don’t expect anything from you.

[Ren sighs and rubs at the side of his head, where it’s begun to throb.]

Look, can we just forget I said anything? It was stupid. Like you said, dreams are irrational. I don’t know why I even brought it up.

[Because it needed to be said, Arsène unhelpfully interjects from the back of his mind. Ren frowns.]

[undyingcrow]

I can't simply forget it, Ren.

[Nor does he want to, if he's being truly honest with himself.

But that's the tricky thing. Honesty isn't exactly his strong suit.]

You have such an annoying habit of putting everyone else before yourself. That night, you actually took some initiative on your own behalf, so why take it back now?

[phantomshow]

Because I don’t want to lose you again.

[And he’s afraid that will be the result of his dream-spawned episode of raw honesty. That he’ll want too much, and Akechi will leave because of it. Ren knows how Akechi is, that he desires freedom above all else. How can Ren be happy if he stands between Akechi and the thing he wants most?]

I’d rather just be your rival than nothing at all.

[undyingcrow]

That's awfully pessimistic of you.

[Though, perhaps that's his own damn fault. He's made a rather frustrating habit out of disappearing, between the engine room and the aftermath of Maruki's reality.]

Though I suppose I can see why you'd come to that conclusion. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for me to discard someone before they can discard me.

[He folds his arms, staring out through the open back of the van.]

...But I am trying not to fall back on old habits.

carnival action, continued.

[phantomshow]

[Ren is still grinning like a maniac by the time Akechi lands, gleefully riding the adrenaline rush of their duel and daring escape. He thinks he could not possibly be any more in love with his more-than-rival than he is at this current moment. Him, a sentimental fool? Guilty as charged.]

That, [he says, swaying unsteadily on his feet,] was fun.

[Then? He immediately passes out. Idiot.]

[undyingcrow]

Really?

[He heaves a small sigh. Now he's carrying a sleeping Ren in a dangerous carnival with very little space for leisure. So, where do they go?

Glancing around, he eyes the house of mirrors. It's not ideal, but it's certainly better than the circus tents.]

[phantomshow]

[Yes, really; this is apparently what happens when a new vampire doesn’t drink blood, especially when they’ve taken a few heavy hits during a duel.

Luckily, Ren’s fainting spell doesn’t last long. He regains consciousness with a deep inhale and a confused murmur shortly after Akechi enters the house of mirrors.]

[undyingcrow]

...Do you need healing?

[The words leave his lips almost absentmindedly, but the question remains. If Ren is so fragile right now, something is amiss.]

[phantomshow]

Gonna kiss me and make me all better?

[Ren reaches up to peel off his mask, and from this close, Akechi will be better able to see how unnaturally pale he is, how the dark circles underneath his eyes stand out like bruises. Ren gives him a wide, dopey grin, putting his new fangs on full display.]

You don’t have to beat me up first, you know. It’s OK to skip straight to the “kissing me” part.

[undyingcrow]

...You look pale.

[He'll offer a quick kiss with his fuzzy cat lips, but... hm.]

Fangs as well. Vampiric traits would explain your abilities earlier.

[phantomshow]

Mm. I had a feeling that might be it, [he says, swallowing hard. Ren closes his eyes and rests his head against the mirrored wall behind him.] Fangs, bat, thinking a juice box full of blood might be a tasty snack.

[He shivers and wraps his arms around himself. What would Maruki think of a blood juice box, he wonders, but wisely keeps that musing to himself.]

Cold … is it cold in here?

[No, Ren, that’s just you.]

[undyingcrow]

[That's... deeply concerning.

So concerning that Akechi reaches for one of his sleeves.]

Do you need a drink?

[phantomshow]

[Ren cracks one eye open and grins weakly.]

Are you hitting on me? ‘Cause I’ll have you know I’m extremely taken.

[undyingcrow]

Mm... Yes.

[Yes to the question, or use to being taken? Either way, he's rolling up a sleeve.]

[phantomshow]

[Ren manages a frail chuckle, still determined to keep up the playful demeanor in the face of what is showing to be a fairly serious problem.]

Then I should warn you … my boyfriend’s … not …

[His words shake and slur together until they drop off entirely as he passes out again, head dropping forward.]

self-harm cw (albeit for love)

[undyingcrow]

Damn it, Ren!

[Screw it. This is going to hurt, but he takes one of his claws and cuts along the top of his arm before bringing the open wound to Ren's lips.]

Drink.