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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.]

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.”

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.

Showoff.

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

What’s it about?

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.]

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.

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.

[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.]

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.

[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.]

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.

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.]

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.

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.

[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.

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.]

Edited 2025-06-12 17:42 (UTC)

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.]

[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.

I doubt the sounds will permeate the sanctity of this van.

[Sanctity of the van... That sounded so stupid, he actually chuckles at the absurdity.]

Besides, I've certainly fared worse than using a blazer as a pillow.

[Ren tries not to think too hard on what kind of worse Akechi might be referencing. He knows just enough of Akechi’s history for his imagination to conjure up speculations, but he won’t ask for details or verification. Akechi keeps his secrets well guarded, and Ren has the necessary patience to wait until he has earned access beyond those walls, if such time ever comes.]

Well, like I said - make yourself at home wherever. I can move.

[He assumes Akechi will want some space, but he’ll let his guest pick where he’ll be most comfortable first.]

You don't have to. It's your vehicle.

[He's too tired to really get picky about positions. No, he'll settle on his side, wings carefully folded. It's not as though he can comfortably sleep on his back with them, after all. Wings don't do well being pinned d own.]

I know. But you’re my guest.

[Ren did just promise Akechi he’d stay, though. Maybe that means here, too. And there’s plenty of room for them both.

Ren pulls the back doors closed but leaves the window open for the airflow, then settles on his back on the other side of the van’s floor, hands folded beneath his head, glancing at Akechi out of the corner of his eye to make sure this arrangement is OK.]

[Akechi nods, clamping his mouth shut to suppress another yawn.]

It's been some time since I shared a 'room' with someone in this capacity.

[The Convoy doesn't count. It's less private. More a simple necessity. This is a conscious choice.]

Yeah?

[It sounds like there’s more Akechi wants to say on the subject. But asking outright seems like a surefire way to make him clam up again, Ren thinks. So he doesn’t prod for answers, just indicates he’s willing to listen if Akechi accepts the invitation to say more.]

At "best," there were crowded orphanages between negligent foster homes. Whenever I had "my" own space, it was typically a closet or a basement.

[He scoffs softly, shaking his head.]

It was different with my mother, but you already know how that ended.

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suggestive cw

gj making it awkward akechi

it's his job now, I guess

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cw for child neglect