90s sadness and gay???

[dtective]

[By this point, Leon has lost track of how long he's been searching for Count D. It became an obsession that only grew with time, and now he couldn't keep to one spot anymore. Not while D was still out there. Across cities, across countries, he probably looked insane to everyone around him. But they didn't know the half of it! Sometimes even Leon wasn't sure he understood what he was doing.

Right now wasn't the time to doubt himself, though. He'd hoped that this lead would get him even an inch closer to his goal, but he hadn't counted on spotting him in the streets. It had to be him. He'd seen him turn and look at him, and those eyes—]

Wait! Stop right there!

[He doesn't hold back, shoving his way through the crowded streets and keeping his eyes locked on him. It doesn't work, because of course it doesn't, and his steps slow in his confusion. His heart is beating way too fast, his stomach sinks, and for a moment he's sure he's lost his one chance.

But something catches the corner of his eye, and his instinct tells him to turn. He reaches out, grabbing the first wrist he can and meeting D's eyes with his own.]

...Found you.

Comments

[dtective]

I'm telling you, it wasn't damaged. You could've just cut off the gross parts, like with moldy bread!

[Hmm, his belief that you can just scrape off mold may be the cause of a few illnesses. But that aside, he offers his hand over, half-peeled-off bandage and all.]

[pruning]

Similar to trace amounts of blood invisible to the naked eye, that is not how mold works. We could not have kept the potato.

[He's not going to explain mold, though, not while he has to deal with this gross cut and grosser bandage. That, he gingerly peels the rest of the way off and tosses out, ew. This time he doesn't yank Leon's arm around in a panic, so his rudimentary first aid is actually quite gentle! Appreciate him.]

[dtective]

[That's weird, D is weird... Who cares that much about a little blood? Vegetarian or not... Eh, well, it'd be weirder if he was leaping at the chance, so this is fine. He isn't really surprised by how gentle D is with him. He's been this gentle with helping his wounds before... So he just watches.

He's actually really tired. It's all catching up with him now, his blinks slowing. Chasing him around has been a real chore, but now he was here... And he could sleep for the night without too much worry. He's still not over it.]

Almost done?

[pruning]

Patience is a virtue, my dear. Just hold still.

[He is almost done, he just needs another moment to wrap it. When he's done he nudges Leon's hand away with a little pat that is maybe, kind of affectionate? Don't say a word.

It's then and only then that he actually looks at Leon's face long enough to realize he's probably tired... ah.]

Mm, it's done. [Go on, shoo, go sulk again on the couch.]

[dtective]

Thanks.

[He says it again almost in a daze, blinking down at his neatly bandaged finger. That is some nice bandaging work... Maybe he'll just be careful what he touches for a while. That pat to his hand, too... Nah, he was probably overthinking it.]

You should put that drawing somewhere before you lose it again. [He adds as he heads back to the couch.]

[pruning]

[Ah, another thanks tally. He'll take it, even dazed. He puts the first aid kit away yet again and follows after Leon, stopped short just a moment by having his attention called back to the picture. It's still on the table...

He'll go over to pick it up in a second, after he gazes at it for a beat. Hmm.]

What do you propose I do with it? Frame it? [ah]

[dtective]

Beats me. You were the one who had it packed.

[Framing it would be nice, but he's not going to suggest anything when D clearly already had some sort of plan for it. Instead, he sits on the couch and then shifts to lie down on it.]

Think about calling Chris, too.

[pruning]

[D could have gone the rest of his life without Leon bringing that up again. He makes a noncommittal noise, finally picking up the picture to go put... somewhere. Somewhere not the coffee table, for a start.]

...I will think about it. I cannot promise you anything, however.

[dtective]

I wouldn't expect a promise from you.

[He doesn't mean that as harshly as it comes off, but there it is, hanging in the air now. He closes his eyes, still exhausted, and tries to curl his arms closer to himself.]

Tomorrow's that picnic. Don't forget.

[pruning]

[Wow, now he doesn't even want to go on a picnic-- but no, that's fair. That is honestly very fair, and while he has half a dozen lines prepared about how it's his business to keep his word, contracts and so on and so forth, it doesn't seem like the time.

So he says absolutely nothing about his ability or lack thereof to make and keep promises, looking down at the picture in silence before turning back halfway to look at Leon. His smile is... certainly fake as hell, but whatever.]

"A great liar has need of a good memory." [Cool Proverb] Sleep, Detective.

[dtective]

A great liar...?

[He half mumbles that back to himself, but he's so tired and he barely understands proverbs to begin with. So there's one last comment about D making no sense before he says "G'night" and drifts off to sleep.

Of course, just sleeping on the couch like a loser he'll soon end up shivering, but this is such an improvement to living on the literal streets that he won't wake up. D can enjoy the hobo on his couch.]

[pruning]

[What a moron... D is not going off to bed immediately, of course not - how can he sleep in until 1pm if he goes to bed at a reasonable hour? He has plenty of things to do that he couldn't do all afternoon because of Leon's abrupt arrival, regardless, so he's in and out of the room keeping himself busy. Quietly. There are only a few rogue animal noises from who knows where.

Not long after he notices Leon is shivering does he bring him a blanket, also produced from who knows where, and for a moment he simply stands over the couch and considers dropping the folded blanket on Leon's face and leaving it there. But he would wake up and start an argument, so fine, he's shaking it out to actually lay it over him properly.

He looks even more homeless now... D isn't going to literally tuck him in, just sigh at him instead. This is absurd.]

[dtective]

[Don't sigh at him, don't watch him sleep!! Even without it being tucked in, the blanket helps. His shivering slows, and eventually he just reaches to grab the edges of the blanket and pull them closer to himself. The quiet movements don't wake him when he's this exhausted, and even the animal noises are faint things that he picks up only in his dreams.

Unlike some people, he wakes up at a reasonable hour. Old habits. He's startled by the blanket at first before he realizes that D must have given it to him, and then he's sitting up and blinking around the shop, scrubbing at his eyes...

And then he remembers, D sleeps in. What's he going to do to pass the time... Eventually he's going to poke around in D's kitchen.]

[pruning]

[D does indeed sleep in. He's not not going to do that just because Leon is here, or actually, he will sleep in somewhat because of it. He has a lot to think about and it takes a while to convince himself that he doesn't need to think about it all night long.

So he sleeps in. It's not too late when he finally gets up, but it is past the hour reasonable people should be out of bed. When he wanders into the kitchen he is immaculately dressed and ready for the day, but also kind of tired. He's here, he is awake.]

...That cabinet is for pans, not food.

[good morning]

[dtective]

Oh, there you are!

[By now, Leon is awake enough... He feels so much better after sleeping on a couch, under a blanket!! The blanket that is now bunched up sloppily on the couch still. He shuts this useless cabinet and glances around.]

I didn't want to wake you up, but man, I'm starving! What's for breakfast?

[Good morning.]

[pruning]

[This is surreal, in a strange way. Leon in his kitchen demanding breakfast is one thing, but after spending the night? Who would have thought. D doesn't need to turn around to know the couch still isn't cleaned up. He thinks for a moment.]

I trust you're capable enough to make your own toast? I can prepare a lovely fruit spread in the meantime.

[Read: he'll cut fruit but that's as fancy as he's going ten minutes out of bed in the morning. Toast and fruit.]

[dtective]

If I knew where anything was...

[He's going to shuffle around until he finds the bread, and then wander aimlessly until he finds the toaster. If it's tucked away neatly, why?? Who doesn't use the toaster every day, come on.]

[pruning]

[D doesn't do anything at all to help him find the breakfast items because he's a jerk who's going to stand there and watch instead. Leon trying to be domestic sure is something to behold.

After a bit of that, he'll go start preparing a lovely fruit salad. Still a surreal experience.]

...Well, how did you sleep?

[dtective]

Not too bad, actually.

[He's really horrible at all of this, and honestly he's probably the type to butter his toast before he toasts it... So enjoy that.]

It sure beats sleeping on the streets! You slept like a rock too, huh? Isn't it kind of late to be just waking up? [How do you run a store like this...]

[pruning]

[Thanks for ruining his toaster. Buy him a new one.]

Some of us did not fall asleep immediately after dinner. [But he always gets up late... his business hours are whenever he wants. It works out somehow.] I did sleep well enough, despite the circumstances.

[He says this like The Circumstances isn't making a mess of his toaster right now.]

[dtective]

Yeah, well some of us have normal sleep schedules.

[...He says that, but his sleep schedule isn't what anyone should call "normal", either. He just knows how to wake up in the morning.]

But see, D? No nightmares and no running around. You should have let me catch up ages ago! [If he keeps joking about it maybe things will become easier. Hah.]

[pruning]

[Well he doesn't know how to make toast, so they're even. D dismisses him with a wave as he cuts up this fruit and starts putting it into nice little bowls. Shut up, Leon.]

Nightmares? [That was like... one time. Way too much credit being given there.] You are here now, so you may as well stop complaining about past mistakes.

[dtective]

That's easy for you to say.

[Grumble grumble... He's just going to try to get his toast out of the toaster now. It takes a few tries per piece, making them jump out and trying to catch them, maybe sticking a fork in once... He lives.]

So what park are we going to? [He's serious about this!]

[pruning]

[Leon is the one trying to start the day with bringing it up, so whatever. D won't have any of it before lunchtime. Or if Leon dies trying to make toast, christ??]

There is one not far from here, with a quaint little gazebo, and... ducks, in a pond... What are you doing to my toaster? [stop??]

[dtective]

What're you talking about? I'm getting my toast!

[Look, it's fine, he pulled the toast out! He can drop the toast and fork and shake his hand off so the burning goes away.]

I don't know about ducks but the rest sounds fine. [Won't they just bug them and steal their food and D will talk to them and who knows what else?? Will they find a DUCK QUEEN, he has to be prepared.]