ɪɴʙᴏx [ᴇxᴘɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ]

[chemex]

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[orphne]

[Her smile rises to her lips by reflex and doesn't match her eyes, her mouth opening with a reflexive rebuttal: I'm fine. But it catches in her throat, because Akechi hadn't believed it, Chuuya hadn't believed it. What would be the point?

So she just shrugs and closes her mouth again, reworking what she wants to say.]

I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours?

[chemex]

[He hauls his sorry carcass to his feet and ambles over to her, dropping into a sit and leaning back on his hands.] You go first, I've already drama dumped on you once.

[orphne]

[In other circumstances, she might have laughed. Right now, she can only manage a weary huff through her nose as she hugs her knees and digs her chin into her kneecaps. It's probably not some big secret, anyway. The second Akira sees Akechi, he'll know.

And, honestly? She's not feeling charitable enough to keep Akechi's secrets right now.]

I tried to step into a fight that had gotten... really bad. It didn't go well.

[That tells him nothing, actually, but it's not intentional at least. She tilts her head to study Akira.]

You?

[chemex]

[Akira exhales in a rush, dropping back to lay flat on his back.]

I feel like a completely incompetent asshole on a constant basis lately and I hate it.

[orphne]

...Did you talk to Akechi-san?

[Like, recently? Like within-the-past-few-hours-recently?]

[chemex]

You mean was-choked-out and got-his-finger-broken and doesn't want to admit it reads like torture Akechi? That one? Yeah.

[He rolls onto his side, facing away from her.] I'm tired, Kotone. I'm supposed to be able to fix this stuff.

[orphne]

He wasn't choked out. [As if that's any reassurance. It's still a little scary to think about how fast Chuuya had been, how easily he'd lifted two men bigger than she is like they were a pair of unruly kittens. And now that the shock's worn off, it's even worse, since she knows that it wasn't any abilities that let him do that, not if he was holding Dazai. That must just be his strength.]

Chuuya grabbed him to get him away from Dazai-san. They were fighting. I tried to stop it, but...

[Her shoulder rises and falls with a shrug. She's supposed to be able to fix this stuff, too, and she can't.]

[chemex]

Oh, so it was helpful hand-shaped welts.

[A beat, and he belatedly processes the names Chuuya and Dazai. Chuuya he doesn't know, but Dazai--]

[He sits up too quickly and his vision swims.] Wait, Dazai broke his finger??

[orphne]

Mmhm.

[She pulls her knees in tighter to herself, staring out straight ahead over them.]

I don't really know a lot about how it started myself, but... something Akechi-san said really got under his skin. I've never seen Dazai-san like that.

[And she's not about to drop those names that had been so important to Dazai, even if by rights she really should just throw him under the bus. It wouldn't be right. It might even put Akira in danger somehow.]

[chemex]

[He just exhales loudly, dropping over backward again.]

Akechi does that. To a lot of people. Are-- Dazai, and you said Chuuya? Are they okay? [They mean something to Kotone, so he finds the energy to ask.]

[orphne]

[Boy, that's a big question, one she doesn't really have the answer to.]

They're not hurt, if that's what you're asking.

[That's the only answer she actually has for him, really. Her lips thin as she presses them together and digs her chin into her knees.]

I'm sorry. I tried to stop them before things got too bad. Chuuya said it could have been a lot worse. [For as thin a reassurance as that is.]

[chemex]

[He reroutes, because he's not sure he can address the notion of It Could Have Been A Lot Worse.]

Are you okay? [He reaches out, tapping the small of her back.]

[orphne]

Are you?

[C'mon, Akira. You know the answer to that already. She doesn't respond to his tapping her back, just tilts her head to gaze down at him with the same smile as before. Again, it's like her face is just stuck trying to look normal.]

[chemex]

I asked first.

[He's. Exhausted, is what he is. He shows that, in his face and his posture and the quiet way he persists, but he's still persisting, anyway.]

[orphne]

...I'm tired.

[She's been tired for months. How many has it been since the final battle with Nyx? Maybe it was even before that, when she had to tell Ryoji she wouldn't kill him. Maybe it was before that, when they learned the truth about what they were doing and how their actions had ushered Nyx closer. Maybe it was even before that, before all this started.]

I never know the right thing to say anymore. I never know the right thing to do. I miss my team. I've never had to do all this stuff on my own. I...

[She wants to go home, and the sheer emotion behind that closes her throat, because she knows what's waiting for her at home. She wants to see her friends on the rooftop, and then... that'll be it. She can finally sleep.]

...I just miss them, [she finishes more quietly, not much above a whisper.]

[chemex]

[Akira would like a day to go by in his life that he doesn't have to choose between letting someone he cares about have what they want and saying goodbye to them. He would very much like that.]

[He scoots a little closer, pivots, leans back against her shoulder.]

'm pretty tired, too. [He leaves it at that, because there's not much more he's sure he can say.]

[orphne]

[It's comforting, having someone to lean back against. The tense set to her shoulders doesn't disappear, but it does relax just slightly as she leans back against him, letting her head gently bonk against the side of his.]

Akechi-san seems like a lot.

[She huffs through her nose and finally uncurls herself a little, letting her hands rest more comfortably on either side.]

Is that what you think you can't fix...?

[chemex]

[He hums, the sound overall noncommittal, but also just affirmative enough that she'd understand. Akechi isn't all of what he thinks he can't fix, not by a long shot-- he's just a lot of it. He's just a lot to deal with, in general.]

I'll team up with you any day, Kotone. 'n Akechi, I'm sure he would too. Sumire, for sure. [He's avoiding the question again.]

[orphne]

[She huffs again. Yeah, he didn't even do a good job of dodging that question, but fine. Have it for now. She thinks she knows the answer, anyway.]

I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm weak. Or useless. Maybe both.

[Chuuya had said the only reason Akechi had made it out with just the broken finger was her, but... it doesn't feel like enough.

Without turning around, she reaches back, trying to find his hand.]

...Do you see us as equals, Akira? From one leader to another.

[chemex]

[He makes a guttural chuckle, shaking his head.]

No, no, see... if Akechi thinks anything about you, you're good in his book. If he thinks mean things about you it means he likes you, actually. Stupid asshole.

[He startles when she finds his hand, but turns his easily to twine their fingers.] I think so, yeah. We're pretty different, but I think we're also really similar. If anything, you're my senpai, because you really seem to have a clearer head about things.

[orphne]

[Great. Akechi really sounds like a pleasure to get to know.

But she huffs at Akira's assessment, not quite able to muster the energy or emotion for a full laugh.]

I'm glad you think so, anyway. [She lapses into silence again, keeping her fingers twined with his and the side of her head pressed against his.]

I just... want to make sure you know that you can talk to me. Not because you think you have to take responsibility for me or anything, but... as one leader to another.

[chemex]

[He chuckles a little again, and the sound cuts off partway through in favor of him folding his chin into his collarbone. He exhales, curling his fingers into hers a little tighter, and then sits more upright again, taking a careful breath.]

I'm really bad at talking to people when it isn't about them, and you don't like talking about yourself anymore than I do. [He's not okay and he knows it, and he's pretty sure she knows it, but if he addresses it he's gonna crumble like a shitty little sandcastle at high tide and he can't do that. He can't.] The same goes for you, though. And I do appreciate it. [If he ever has the presence of mind to reach out before it's unnavigable, it's nice to know she'd understand better than most.]

[orphne]

Mmhm.

[She closes her eyes and sighs. She's so tired, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally exhausted beyond what she usually feels. Logically, she knows it's the aftereffects of the adrenaline wearing off after it all, crashing her back down to earth now that the immediate danger has passed.]

Do whatever you want, [she says finally, squeezing his fingers gently to take any of the potential sting out of the words.] Wanna just... listen to some music for a little bit?

[chemex]

[It doesn't sting, but it's definitely something he ruminates over. Not immediately-- she asks a question, and he responds, first.]

Oh, sure, what've you got? [Do whatever you want settles into a funny little manila folder in his brain, right behind his tongue, to be mulled over when they settle into a musical feelings jam. Because at the end of the day, Akira Kurusu doesn't really know what he wants, and is more than a little afraid to have a concrete idea of it or consider pursuing it.]

[orphne]

A bunch of different stuff. You can pick.

[She only hesitates a moment before leaning forward just enough to pull her decidedly-mid-2000s MP3 player from it's strap and passing it behind her for him to take. She'll just tuck one of her headphones over her ear in preparation for the incoming music.

Uh, good luck with that ancient bit of tech, buddy. None of the songs are more recent than 2010.]