inbox!!

[phantomshow]

voice } video } text } action

Comments

[phantomshow]

Obviously.

[Ren attempts to hold back a smirk as he fills in the boxes for the first clue. Task accomplished, he hums a quiet thoughtful note while picking out the second clue, effortlessly twirling the pencil through his fingers.]

Also five letters. “Expensive theater boxes.”

[undyingcrow]

[Oho. There's a more niche answer. Fortunately, Akechi is well read.]

Loges, though that is a more obtuse one.

[phantomshow]

Pretend I know what you’re talking about.

[Definitely not something that came up in one of his class lectures. Still, Akechi showing off is … oddly endearing.]

Four letters, “from the top.”

[undyingcrow]

This one should be simple enough for you to grasp.

[His grin sharpens.]

Anew. A fresh start...

[phantomshow]

Yeah, I know what that is.

[He returns the grin, full of warmth. This place is a hellscape, but it’s also a fresh start for both of them, and Ren can’t find it in himself to regret being here, if only for that reason. Maybe they would’ve been able to eventually start over back home too, but there’s no sense in lingering on hypotheticals. They’re together now, and that feels right.]

Seven letters this time. “Takes a turn.”

[undyingcrow]

Rotates.

[He speaks swiftly, as if he knew before Ren even gave the question.]

Just as the world keeps turning, I suppose.

[phantomshow]

[Indeed it does. Ren glances up from the page with mock suspicion.]

You haven’t done this one before, have you?

[undyingcrow]

No, I'm simply a model student who's well read.

[To his credit, he doesn't dip into his Detective Prince voice. In fact, his words are dripping with irony.]

[phantomshow]

Just checking.

[Ren hums thoughtfully as he glances over the remaining clues.]

OK, since you’re so well versed in theater, how about this one? Four letters, “Opera set in Memphis.”

[undyingcrow]

Ah, Aida.

[Yes, he's researched opera, too. It makes him sound sophisticated and mature...]

Though, the Memphis in question is in ancient Egypt, not Tennessee.

[phantomshow]

Showoff.

[He says it fondly, with a smile ghosting his lips.]

What’s it about?

[undyingcrow]

It's the story about an enslaved Ethiopian girl named Aida and a military commander's conflict between his love for her and his duties to the king. Moreover, the king's daughter is also in love with him.

[He lays out his summary in a neutral tone, as if reciting an academic text.]

[phantomshow]

Oh … that sounds like a sad story. Love triangles aren’t known to work out very well.

[He sets the crossword book down between them and pulls a knee up to his chest.]

What happens to her? Aida.

[undyingcrow]

Sad is an apt way of putting it.

[Akechi breaths a small sigh.]

Both Aida and Radamès die together in each other's arms, within a sealed tomb. The latter was sentenced to death for his "betrayal," and the former couldn't bear to live without him, so she hid herself within the very vault he was to die in.

[phantomshow]

[Oof, somehow that’s even sadder than Ren expected. He hms quietly and stares out into the distance beyond the van. The unwelcome memory of Akechi disappearing behind that metal wall in the engine room punches to the front of his mind, and he closes his eyes.]

I guess people probably think that’s romantic, huh?

[Ren doesn’t. But he can understand why someone might choose death over surviving without the person they love. It’s not an easy feat to keep living with such a great loss.]

[undyingcrow]

To some, there is no greater show of love than dying for your beloved. It's at the heart of many a tragedy...

[He snorts softly, shaking his head.]

But something tells me you're not one for such tragedies.

[phantomshow]

[Ren shakes his head, and his mouth twists into the tiniest wistful smile. Akechi knows him so well.]

I think … a greater show of love would be continuing to live, even though it hurts.

[He blinks his eyes open again and allows his gaze to gently settle on the figure sat next to him.]

Remembering the dead is how we keep them alive, in a way.

[It’s what he’d done.]

[undyingcrow]

True. But it's no replacement. A memory can't save you, if you have no one else.

[But that's just his experience. He understands what Ren is saying.]

Lucky for you, I'm not a memory.

[phantomshow]

Glad to hear it.

[He smiles brighter, warmer, and bites back the impulse to say I love you again. He will say it again, but another time. They’ve already exchanged so many heavy words tonight. Any more might shatter the fragile peace they’ve managed to build.]

If you were just a memory, I’d need to seek out professional help. And something tells me therapists are hard to come by out here.

[Not that Ren’s likely to ever trust a therapist with those little hidden pieces of himself again. He learned his lesson with Maruki. That’s it, that’s the joke.]

[undyingcrow]

I'm not sure a single therapist would be able to comprehend the sheer clusterfuck of trauma represented here.

[Not that he trusts a therapist either, but he knows Ren knows better than to assume otherwise.

Still, he relaxes once more, light amusement sneaking into his words.]

No, I suppose we'll have to endure as the messes that we are.

[phantomshow]

Guess we have no choice.

[Ren shrugs, comically exaggerated. He knows better than to try to deny that deep down, he too is incredibly messed up, a tangle of his own traumas and coping mechanisms. Akechi sees him too clearly for exactly what he is. Ren gently pulls his glasses off his face and rubs at his eyes.]

Wanna stay here tonight? It’s pretty late.

[undyingcrow]

[It only dawns on Akechi that it's getting late. With that realization, a yawn sneaks out of him, unveiling his rather sharp teeth.

It's an odd sort of vulnerability. So much smaller than his inner thoughts and feelings, yet it exposes how tired he truly is.

Here, now, he doesn't feel so inclined to move.]

Better here than cramped in the Convoy.

[phantomshow]

Yeah? Says a lot about the setup at the Convoy.

[Nothing good, given the bare state of the van’s interior. But he’s secretly pleased - maybe not so secretly, given how brightly he smiles when Akechi agrees. Ren picks up the book of puzzles and pencil and neatly stashes them in his bag.]

Obviously it’s not much, but make yourself at home.

[Once the bag is zipped shut, Ren slips out of his blazer and folds it neatly on top of the bag, then holds the bundle out for Akechi to take.]

Best I can do for a pillow, [he explains, with an apologetic shrug.]

suggestive cw

[undyingcrow]

Don't get me wrong. The furnishings are adequate, but my changes make the bunks... less than ideal, to say nothing of the shared living space.

[His face contorts ever so slightly, ears flicking back.]

...And the noise coming from some of the more. Passionate residents.

[Still, he accepts the blazer with a snort. It is better than nothing.]

gj making it awkward akechi

[phantomshow]

[Hoo boy, as Sojiro would say. What an awkward situation. Ren hmms quietly and absently winds a lock of his hair around his index finger, doing his best to ignore the sudden flash of warmth crawling up his neck.]

That’s awfully inconsiderate. I, um - I can’t say I’ve noticed anything like that in this area, but I guess if it does get noisy, I can always park somewhere else.