[Score. Alright, he thinks he can work with this, and he smiles gently, but tries at the same time to seem innocent, sincere, maybe just a touch frightened. He shifts his eyes to the weapon.]
You're the one with the scary gun. I'm not going to get far even if I do try to run off, and when have you ever heard of me having a death wish, hm? Fufufu... I'll answer anything you ask!
[Z is silent at that for a moment, staring down at his gun and weighing it in his hands before he speaks. And when he speaks, he makes eye contact again, and his eyes are more honest, this time. Open.]
Why did you form a group with Tenshouin? If he's threatening you, we can help. You don't have to defend him. He won't be able to hurt you anymore.
If he's not... then I really don't get it. I didn't think you were like everyone else.
[By everyone else, he of course means the ones Eichi and his family have threatened into cooperating and licking their boots.]
[That's... not what Wataru expects at all. He blinks, eyes owlish, expression open. Then he stands up again and walks toward the guard.]
You really do know about me... No, he's not threatening me. He did that a long time ago, you know. He was really hurting, so he hurt everyone else. I don't know how to explain it... I don't really want to excuse anything he did. He has a very long way to go to make it up to everyone.
[He furrows his brow.]
Eichi and I had a talk, one day. I was sitting on the rooftop, you see, and some of the other students thought I was going to jump. I'd been accused of some terrible things, though rather quietly, and I honestly... [He blinks away tears. They're a bit fake, but not entirely.] ...if Eichi hadn't come to me then, I might've done it. You know, jumped. We found out, through talking, that we had some things in common, and I decided then and there that if someone like Eichi Tenshouin could save me, I could save others.
[He smiles, bittersweet.]
We bargained a little, here and there. It was I who asked him to form the unit, though, not the other way around. I auditioned properly and everything. In doing so, I tamed the beast of Yumenosaki.
[The guard freezes when Wataru steps closer, but he doesn't move his gun. He doesn't even grip at it tighter, making it clear that he's not the type to use it like a reflex. Young, new at this, but not someone violent. Likely someone forced into this position somehow.]
"Stay back..."
[He warns, but his body language doesn't back it up at all. If Wataru comes closer, nothing else will happen.]
"How do you know he's not still tricking you? That he didn't want you to ask? You're going to stick your neck out for him, after all of that?"
[Wataru steps closer, taking a chance, and lays a shaking hand on the gun, lowering it further if he can. His other hand rests on the young man's shoulder, light and kind and gentle and generous.]
How do I know...? Well, I don't. Is this what they call "having faith"? I assure you, I gave him a thorough trial, an audition of his own, so to speak. Eichi knows where he stands with me, and that it is a tenuous, fragile position to be at my side. Who knows how long it may even last? But the fact remains that if I'm going to be without him, I'd rather be dead.
[And like that, the gun lowers, and the guard lets down his defenses. It seems like he has to think about those words for a long moment, but after that, and along with the hand on his shoulder, he relents.]
"They've got him somewhere around here, but I don't know where. I just know his health hasn't been great, and it's making things difficult. I can't help you, but I can take you to the restroom. And maybe I'll take my eyes off you for a moment too long."
[Mr. Magician. It's an invitation to vanish.]
"But if you do this, be careful. Keep living. Even if we don't understand all of your actions, there are still people behind you."
[He breathes out something like a sigh.]
"Hurry up, before the guy I'm covering for comes back. Are you doing this, or not?"
[Wataru leans in and embraces the poor guard, then pats his hands on both shoulders and steps back.]
You have my utmost gratitude. Now, just direct me and I'll act the part as we go down the hall? Believe in me, for I'll live until I get to see him again. Eichi isn't allowed to die before me. It's completely forbidden!
[He waits for the guard to open the door, nudging him to hold the gun properly, then he heads down the hallway in front of him, head down, but eyes alert. He feels better than he did the last time, stronger and more capable.]
[The hug is... nice. And he briefly leans into it before he's left blinking and remembering himself. Ah, this job. Right. Holding the gun properly, he leads Wataru out of the room, guiding him down the hall and to the restroom. They pass a few people who question why Z is taking him out, and Z gives good answers about how Wataru was being too difficult, and it's less of a problem to be focused on him like this than to leave him in the room.
When they get to the restroom itself, it's a single room, with a lockable door. The guard nods inside of it for Wataru to get in.]
Light switch is on the wall. Get in there and don't try anything funny. [Well, but he'll leave it up to Wataru completely if he really goes inside and plays Houdini with breaking out or just takes off now. Whatever he chooses... the guard will look the either way.]
[Wataru will save his Houdini energy for when he needs it, and calmly keeps walking when the guard stops. He waits to be sure there are no footsteps, and--]
Thank you, Z. I'll repay this someday, I promise.
[And off he goes down the hall. His mark ached when Eichi was near last time, and he hopes it will again, to alert him to where his unitmate is being held. Door after door, hallway and stairwell... He's wandering along, slipping into empty rooms and corners when other guards come by, until finally he feels a tug. He doesn't know why, but something just tells him to go into the room on the left.
So he does.
It's dark, pitch black, but he hears breathing. He thinks it's Eichi... Unguarded?]
Fear not! Phantom Thief Wataru Hibiki is here to steal you away!
[The voice that speaks his name is weak, strained, but it's most certainly Eichi. The room is dark, but the light that Wataru lets it from the hallway is enough to cast shadows and draw Eichi's attention. He's lying down, and it looks like he hasn't been trusted with any freedom to move about the room— his wrists are tied to the bed he's at least been granted with rope. The bed is an old, cheap thing, and Eichi has a couple of blankets sloppily covering him.
It's hard to see the rest of his injuries in this light. Physically, they weren't able to do too much, anyway. His first scratch to his cheek is a little more healed now, but there's another crossing it, and his clothes look roughed up beyond belief, once he's out of the covers. More than anything, he seems disoriented.]
Is this a dream again? It can't be... everything feels too real. [He breathes in shakily.]
[He kneels beside the bed, feeling around for the bindings so he can start working them open. Fortunately, he's a damn pro at this, so it shouldn't take long. Still, he keeps his voice low, and murmurs the words, as though he is an apparition in a dream.]
Yes, Eichi... This is all a horrible nightmare. You have them when you're in the hospital, don't you? But I'm here to rescue you, and we'll take off to somewhere safe, where you can happily and warmly wake up with me by your side.
[He breathes it out in relief, and the moment one hand is free, he reaches to wrap it around Wataru. His hair— he can't tell in the dark how much of it is left, what happened, if it's something he can fix for him, but he wants to cry anyway. He doesn't.]
They told me you had died. I had a feeling that it must be a lie, but there was no way to confirm it. So much has happened...
[His other hand, once freed, immediately moves to touch Wataru's chest, seemingly feeling him up— but the reason is revealed with his words shortly after.]
Eichi... I can't die yet. I need to be by your side for years. I thought I was dying, but I woke up just fine, so perhaps I was overreacting!
[He takes the hand that touches his chest in his own hand, holding it close before pressing his lips to Eichi's knuckles.]
I still have so many things to share with you. I believe we'll make it out, this time. The guards... some of them are on our side, I think. Not many, but the one who helped me escape, he knew more than he let on. We're almost to freedom, my dear, dear Eichi.
No... Rather than overreacting, I think it was quite serious. You were—
[Eichi is cut off, as he sits up and the blankets fall from over him. Someone is standing at the door, speaking up:
"Incorrigible. You're in this sort of situation and you're still lingering to talk to each other?"
Eichi's heart lifts at the sound. Keito— the Keito who certainly assisted him during those cruel days and then slowly fell off towards the end, wanting no part of it. Recently, since Eichi befriended Wataru, Keito had grown interested and started speaking to him again, but it was barely at all. Eichi hadn't known what to make of it...
But now, he thinks he understands. His friend won't leave his side.]
Keito!
["Be quiet! This place is currently being surrounded, but that doesn't mean you can raise your voice. We've been looking for you for days. Both of you."
He pushes up his glasses and storms in, annoyed as he huffs. "Hibiki. You're covered in bandages... Can you move enough to help me with him?"]
["What? They hurt you? Where?" Of course Keito begins his fretting, and Eichi struggles to sit up. One arm around each of them, looking like he can barely keep himself awake, let alone sitting or standing up. Through Keito's instructions, they make their way out of the door and into the light of the hall, and it's a little clearer. Eichi's shirt is torn up, and the scratches through it match cuts into his skin.
Nothing near as deep or painful as what Wataru suffered, but Eichi's body is much weaker, as well. He's freezing to the touch, there's blood caked on his skin and clothes, and some of the wounds are fresh. Maybe from just hours ago. It's different from the method of Wataru's rage-filled beatings. It seems methodical.
But, of course, all Keito cares about is sending an urgent message to Eichi's family to ready a hospital room. He adds in for two, with Eichi's insistence that Wataru be checked as well, and begs Keito to stay through and make sure nothing happens to Wataru. He reluctantly agrees.
It's all rather scattered, but the three of them all do manage to escape the building that's currently surrounded by official looking men in suits with guns. Ah. Something serious?? There's a helicopter waiting for the three of them to head to the hospital, though.]
[Wataru ignores his own injuries, brushes them off if asked, no matter how much pain he's in or how badly he just wants to sleep. The marks on Eichi distress him, and it starts to sap whatever reserves he was tapping to rescue his unitmate.
He keeps Eichi close, biting back tears again, real ones this time, until they emerge from the building. They're saved. They're free, and Wataru never wants to go through this again.
He helps carry Eichi to the helicopter, murmuring affirmations and comfort the whole way, heedless of Keito's orders. Once they're in the helicopter, his vision goes black, and he slumps against the paramedic inside.
When he wakes up in the hospital with a start, he isn't sure how much time has passed. He's not sure what day it is, or where he is other than a medical facility. But there's the outline of a guard in the doorway, and when he looks to his right, Eichi is in the next bed. Everything hurts, he's bandaged all over, but he's thankfully alive.]
[For once, Eichi is awake first. He's staring straight at Wataru, sitting up in his hospital bed, and now he's bandaged, as well. It looks as though they've been receiving the highest quality care— both of them. Regardless of Eichi's family's feelings, there's not much they can do when something like this has risk of falling into the public eye, with their own son hospitalized, as well.]
Are you finally awake, Wataru? I was worried sick.
[He cries out joyfully, seeing him awake, seeing him bandaged up, certainly, but alive and awake and intact! Wataru can't help smiling, and he'd leap out of bed over to his unitmate if he wasn't hooked up to IVs and things.]
I'm sorry to have kept you waiting! I hope it wasn't for long. I'm afraid I may have overexerted myself... But enough about me! Are you well? Are you injured?
[Eichi, meanwhile, is completely used to maneuvering hospital equipment. He yanks the heart monitor off his finger and lowers the bar on the side of his bed so he can swing his legs over carefully. Cautiously, he stands, taking his IV by the pole to move along with him.
Like this, he can step over to Wataru's side, even as weak as he looks.]
The doctors told me that you're lucky to have survived, you know? The things that you did... Ah, just so you know, the people of that group were taken into custody. It seems that while there were some under the table agreements to hand you off from my parents, they're not anyone associated with the Tenshouin name at all. It's still a matter being looked into...
But, my parents have been forced to acknowledge you, in this way. Wataru... it's good news, isn't it?
[It takes Wataru a moment to process the news, and he reaches out to Eichi before scooting over to make room in the bed for him. He pats the bed and pulls back the covers.]
All of them? I'm... There was one, I want to make sure he isn't harmed! He told me his name was Z... I don't know if that was correct at all, but if you could find a way to see to it that he's not held too responsible...
[Wataru blushes pleasantly, relieved and confused and a huge jumble of emotions.]
He helped me get to you. I'm... I'm glad your family has to acknowledge me, somewhat. But they still hate me, don't they? I'm nothing but a nuisance stealing their son's attention away. Do you think I'll ever win them over?
Hm? That's unexpected... there was someone who helped you, Wataru? If that's the case, then of course I'd like them to receive better treatment than the rest. I'll pull strings and have them removed, so long as I can properly locate them without causing a scandal in the group. Leave it to me.
[Z... He'll look into it immediately. But as he's thinking, Wataru's other thoughts hit him, and he smiles, properly climbing into the bed now and cuddling up to Wataru's side. It's funny, how easy this is, when things had been so tense before...]
You don't have to win them over, Wataru. I understand your concerns, but the truth is that they're not the sort of people to view others in a light you can understand... It's purely business. I'm not their "son," I'm their precious heir, you know? It's that sort of thing.
There's no concern for what light you might bring to my life. It's only a matter of helping me carry the family name or not. So, with that in mind... I hope that you won't focus on it. We'll continue to push forward, and these struggles will become nothing.
More importantly, it seems as though a number of people were looking for the both of us while we were missing. There are flowers and gifts on the table to your other side, for when you'd like to look at them.
[Just a few, but they are there— flowers, a teddy bear, maybe a toy dove or two. Little things, now that they've been found.]
[His smile is soft, and is grows strained as Eichi explains. Of course, he must've known it was something like that, or they wouldn't have tried to get rid of him. Wataru never meant to be a problem, but now that he is, he supposes he might as well wear it as a badge of pride and honor. He's the one who will end the Tenshouin bloodline, he thinks, and laughs in spite of himself. Oh, it's not as though Eichi will ever really love him, and it's not as though he'll keep him around forever. Wataru is too shell-shocked by the events of the last few... days? Weeks? To think of himself as anything but a temporary presence on the earth.
He looks over to where Eichi mentions, and notes... there are gifts? And flowers? But who...? He'd thought he'd alienated what was left of his friends when he joined Eichi, but it seems he was wrong. He was missed. He was searched for. They both were. It makes his chest ache dully. It certainly isn't how he wanted to find out he's loved, or at the very least, not anathema. He keeps staring at the gifts.]
Me? Oh, I'm... I'm sore! I think I may have pushed myself a bit too hard, but I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to you. It's like my body was moving itself. I'm more concerned about you. What did they do to you?
[At that question, Eichi is silent for a moment, his thin smile brushing against the side of Wataru's arm as he ducks to tuck himself closer. His slender fingers brush down the magician's chest, over any bandages. There's a nurse in the hall peeking over the guard's shoulder in alarm at Eichi's heart monitor— but seeing how he's well enough to be fully in Wataru's bed, she's more occupied on looking a little flustered. The guard waves her off.]
I believe... that it's nothing that we should dwell on. I don't want to upset you any more than this. [Carefully, his fingers dance back up and find some of Wataru's hair. Mm...]
I'm sorry. It seems that becoming involved with me has caused you more problems than not.
[Ah, his hair. He remembers now, and reaches back to feel it. There's a large swath cut short in the center back, crudely cropped higher than his shoulders. Wataru sighs, then smiles at Eichi. He'll have to adopt a new hairstyle for a while, he supposes, but he'll be here with Eichi by his side. Or him by Eichi's, however the cards may fall.]
We won't dwell on it. We'll recover, and move on. We're safe from here on, aren't we? You've made sure of that. I know your mind.
[He slides off his heart monitor, too, and slips an arm around Eichi, holding him close by his side. There's nothing else to do but sit here comfortably and pray the future is better.]
I'll always be by your side, Eichi. Not even this will keep me away.
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teaism2019-05-21 10:36 pm
no subject
You're the one with the scary gun. I'm not going to get far even if I do try to run off, and when have you ever heard of me having a death wish, hm? Fufufu... I'll answer anything you ask!
no subject
Why did you form a group with Tenshouin? If he's threatening you, we can help. You don't have to defend him. He won't be able to hurt you anymore.
If he's not... then I really don't get it. I didn't think you were like everyone else.
[By everyone else, he of course means the ones Eichi and his family have threatened into cooperating and licking their boots.]
no subject
You really do know about me... No, he's not threatening me. He did that a long time ago, you know. He was really hurting, so he hurt everyone else. I don't know how to explain it... I don't really want to excuse anything he did. He has a very long way to go to make it up to everyone.
[He furrows his brow.]
Eichi and I had a talk, one day. I was sitting on the rooftop, you see, and some of the other students thought I was going to jump. I'd been accused of some terrible things, though rather quietly, and I honestly... [He blinks away tears. They're a bit fake, but not entirely.] ...if Eichi hadn't come to me then, I might've done it. You know, jumped. We found out, through talking, that we had some things in common, and I decided then and there that if someone like Eichi Tenshouin could save me, I could save others.
[He smiles, bittersweet.]
We bargained a little, here and there. It was I who asked him to form the unit, though, not the other way around. I auditioned properly and everything. In doing so, I tamed the beast of Yumenosaki.
no subject
"Stay back..."
[He warns, but his body language doesn't back it up at all. If Wataru comes closer, nothing else will happen.]
"How do you know he's not still tricking you? That he didn't want you to ask? You're going to stick your neck out for him, after all of that?"
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How do I know...? Well, I don't. Is this what they call "having faith"? I assure you, I gave him a thorough trial, an audition of his own, so to speak. Eichi knows where he stands with me, and that it is a tenuous, fragile position to be at my side. Who knows how long it may even last? But the fact remains that if I'm going to be without him, I'd rather be dead.
no subject
"They've got him somewhere around here, but I don't know where. I just know his health hasn't been great, and it's making things difficult. I can't help you, but I can take you to the restroom. And maybe I'll take my eyes off you for a moment too long."
[Mr. Magician. It's an invitation to vanish.]
"But if you do this, be careful. Keep living. Even if we don't understand all of your actions, there are still people behind you."
[He breathes out something like a sigh.]
"Hurry up, before the guy I'm covering for comes back. Are you doing this, or not?"
no subject
You have my utmost gratitude. Now, just direct me and I'll act the part as we go down the hall? Believe in me, for I'll live until I get to see him again. Eichi isn't allowed to die before me. It's completely forbidden!
[He waits for the guard to open the door, nudging him to hold the gun properly, then he heads down the hallway in front of him, head down, but eyes alert. He feels better than he did the last time, stronger and more capable.]
no subject
When they get to the restroom itself, it's a single room, with a lockable door. The guard nods inside of it for Wataru to get in.]
Light switch is on the wall. Get in there and don't try anything funny. [Well, but he'll leave it up to Wataru completely if he really goes inside and plays Houdini with breaking out or just takes off now. Whatever he chooses... the guard will look the either way.]
no subject
Thank you, Z. I'll repay this someday, I promise.
[And off he goes down the hall. His mark ached when Eichi was near last time, and he hopes it will again, to alert him to where his unitmate is being held. Door after door, hallway and stairwell... He's wandering along, slipping into empty rooms and corners when other guards come by, until finally he feels a tug. He doesn't know why, but something just tells him to go into the room on the left.
So he does.
It's dark, pitch black, but he hears breathing. He thinks it's Eichi... Unguarded?]
Fear not! Phantom Thief Wataru Hibiki is here to steal you away!
no subject
[The voice that speaks his name is weak, strained, but it's most certainly Eichi. The room is dark, but the light that Wataru lets it from the hallway is enough to cast shadows and draw Eichi's attention. He's lying down, and it looks like he hasn't been trusted with any freedom to move about the room— his wrists are tied to the bed he's at least been granted with rope. The bed is an old, cheap thing, and Eichi has a couple of blankets sloppily covering him.
It's hard to see the rest of his injuries in this light. Physically, they weren't able to do too much, anyway. His first scratch to his cheek is a little more healed now, but there's another crossing it, and his clothes look roughed up beyond belief, once he's out of the covers. More than anything, he seems disoriented.]
Is this a dream again? It can't be... everything feels too real. [He breathes in shakily.]
How did you find me...?
no subject
[He kneels beside the bed, feeling around for the bindings so he can start working them open. Fortunately, he's a damn pro at this, so it shouldn't take long. Still, he keeps his voice low, and murmurs the words, as though he is an apparition in a dream.]
Yes, Eichi... This is all a horrible nightmare. You have them when you're in the hospital, don't you? But I'm here to rescue you, and we'll take off to somewhere safe, where you can happily and warmly wake up with me by your side.
no subject
[He breathes it out in relief, and the moment one hand is free, he reaches to wrap it around Wataru. His hair— he can't tell in the dark how much of it is left, what happened, if it's something he can fix for him, but he wants to cry anyway. He doesn't.]
They told me you had died. I had a feeling that it must be a lie, but there was no way to confirm it. So much has happened...
[His other hand, once freed, immediately moves to touch Wataru's chest, seemingly feeling him up— but the reason is revealed with his words shortly after.]
They treated you. Thank goodness.
no subject
[He takes the hand that touches his chest in his own hand, holding it close before pressing his lips to Eichi's knuckles.]
I still have so many things to share with you. I believe we'll make it out, this time. The guards... some of them are on our side, I think. Not many, but the one who helped me escape, he knew more than he let on. We're almost to freedom, my dear, dear Eichi.
no subject
[Eichi is cut off, as he sits up and the blankets fall from over him. Someone is standing at the door, speaking up:
"Incorrigible. You're in this sort of situation and you're still lingering to talk to each other?"
Eichi's heart lifts at the sound. Keito— the Keito who certainly assisted him during those cruel days and then slowly fell off towards the end, wanting no part of it. Recently, since Eichi befriended Wataru, Keito had grown interested and started speaking to him again, but it was barely at all. Eichi hadn't known what to make of it...
But now, he thinks he understands. His friend won't leave his side.]
Keito!
["Be quiet! This place is currently being surrounded, but that doesn't mean you can raise your voice. We've been looking for you for days. Both of you."
He pushes up his glasses and storms in, annoyed as he huffs. "Hibiki. You're covered in bandages... Can you move enough to help me with him?"]
no subject
Ah!
[He's never been happier to hear anyone in his life. Relief washes over Wataru, and he's stunned silent, complying with Keito's every request.]
...He's hurt. Eichi's injured, I believe.
no subject
Nothing near as deep or painful as what Wataru suffered, but Eichi's body is much weaker, as well. He's freezing to the touch, there's blood caked on his skin and clothes, and some of the wounds are fresh. Maybe from just hours ago. It's different from the method of Wataru's rage-filled beatings. It seems methodical.
But, of course, all Keito cares about is sending an urgent message to Eichi's family to ready a hospital room. He adds in for two, with Eichi's insistence that Wataru be checked as well, and begs Keito to stay through and make sure nothing happens to Wataru. He reluctantly agrees.
It's all rather scattered, but the three of them all do manage to escape the building that's currently surrounded by official looking men in suits with guns. Ah. Something serious?? There's a helicopter waiting for the three of them to head to the hospital, though.]
no subject
He keeps Eichi close, biting back tears again, real ones this time, until they emerge from the building. They're saved. They're free, and Wataru never wants to go through this again.
He helps carry Eichi to the helicopter, murmuring affirmations and comfort the whole way, heedless of Keito's orders. Once they're in the helicopter, his vision goes black, and he slumps against the paramedic inside.
When he wakes up in the hospital with a start, he isn't sure how much time has passed. He's not sure what day it is, or where he is other than a medical facility. But there's the outline of a guard in the doorway, and when he looks to his right, Eichi is in the next bed. Everything hurts, he's bandaged all over, but he's thankfully alive.]
no subject
[For once, Eichi is awake first. He's staring straight at Wataru, sitting up in his hospital bed, and now he's bandaged, as well. It looks as though they've been receiving the highest quality care— both of them. Regardless of Eichi's family's feelings, there's not much they can do when something like this has risk of falling into the public eye, with their own son hospitalized, as well.]
Are you finally awake, Wataru? I was worried sick.
no subject
[He cries out joyfully, seeing him awake, seeing him bandaged up, certainly, but alive and awake and intact! Wataru can't help smiling, and he'd leap out of bed over to his unitmate if he wasn't hooked up to IVs and things.]
I'm sorry to have kept you waiting! I hope it wasn't for long. I'm afraid I may have overexerted myself... But enough about me! Are you well? Are you injured?
no subject
[Eichi, meanwhile, is completely used to maneuvering hospital equipment. He yanks the heart monitor off his finger and lowers the bar on the side of his bed so he can swing his legs over carefully. Cautiously, he stands, taking his IV by the pole to move along with him.
Like this, he can step over to Wataru's side, even as weak as he looks.]
The doctors told me that you're lucky to have survived, you know? The things that you did... Ah, just so you know, the people of that group were taken into custody. It seems that while there were some under the table agreements to hand you off from my parents, they're not anyone associated with the Tenshouin name at all. It's still a matter being looked into...
But, my parents have been forced to acknowledge you, in this way. Wataru... it's good news, isn't it?
no subject
All of them? I'm... There was one, I want to make sure he isn't harmed! He told me his name was Z... I don't know if that was correct at all, but if you could find a way to see to it that he's not held too responsible...
[Wataru blushes pleasantly, relieved and confused and a huge jumble of emotions.]
He helped me get to you. I'm... I'm glad your family has to acknowledge me, somewhat. But they still hate me, don't they? I'm nothing but a nuisance stealing their son's attention away. Do you think I'll ever win them over?
no subject
[Z... He'll look into it immediately. But as he's thinking, Wataru's other thoughts hit him, and he smiles, properly climbing into the bed now and cuddling up to Wataru's side. It's funny, how easy this is, when things had been so tense before...]
You don't have to win them over, Wataru. I understand your concerns, but the truth is that they're not the sort of people to view others in a light you can understand... It's purely business. I'm not their "son," I'm their precious heir, you know? It's that sort of thing.
There's no concern for what light you might bring to my life. It's only a matter of helping me carry the family name or not. So, with that in mind... I hope that you won't focus on it. We'll continue to push forward, and these struggles will become nothing.
More importantly, it seems as though a number of people were looking for the both of us while we were missing. There are flowers and gifts on the table to your other side, for when you'd like to look at them.
[Just a few, but they are there— flowers, a teddy bear, maybe a toy dove or two. Little things, now that they've been found.]
Are you alright, though?
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[His smile is soft, and is grows strained as Eichi explains. Of course, he must've known it was something like that, or they wouldn't have tried to get rid of him. Wataru never meant to be a problem, but now that he is, he supposes he might as well wear it as a badge of pride and honor. He's the one who will end the Tenshouin bloodline, he thinks, and laughs in spite of himself. Oh, it's not as though Eichi will ever really love him, and it's not as though he'll keep him around forever. Wataru is too shell-shocked by the events of the last few... days? Weeks? To think of himself as anything but a temporary presence on the earth.
He looks over to where Eichi mentions, and notes... there are gifts? And flowers? But who...? He'd thought he'd alienated what was left of his friends when he joined Eichi, but it seems he was wrong. He was missed. He was searched for. They both were. It makes his chest ache dully. It certainly isn't how he wanted to find out he's loved, or at the very least, not anathema. He keeps staring at the gifts.]
Me? Oh, I'm... I'm sore! I think I may have pushed myself a bit too hard, but I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to you. It's like my body was moving itself. I'm more concerned about you. What did they do to you?
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I believe... that it's nothing that we should dwell on. I don't want to upset you any more than this. [Carefully, his fingers dance back up and find some of Wataru's hair. Mm...]
I'm sorry. It seems that becoming involved with me has caused you more problems than not.
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We won't dwell on it. We'll recover, and move on. We're safe from here on, aren't we? You've made sure of that. I know your mind.
[He slides off his heart monitor, too, and slips an arm around Eichi, holding him close by his side. There's nothing else to do but sit here comfortably and pray the future is better.]
I'll always be by your side, Eichi. Not even this will keep me away.
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