LABY - IC INBOX

[enteloki]

[ TEXT - AUDIO - VIDEO - ACTION ] 

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[placation]

[ For a few seconds, Maruki is stunlocked–

And then he hears the joke inherent in her words and bursts into relieved, delighted laughter. ]

Oh, thank god. No, we can stay here. If I can be honest with you, I feel terrible.

[ Which is a HUGE get, good job Sky! He would have forced himself up and out if she truly wanted to take him somewhere – god knows he needs to see more of Somnius than he has – but it wouldn't have been misery. ]

Here, let me put this nonsense away. Make yourself comfortable! We can just chat for a bit, if you'd like.

[ As friends, not in counseling. Right. That's good for him.

In... his bed....... right. That's ??????????? for him.

Whatever. Busying himself with piling all the papers and notebooks and putting them over on the absolute organized chaos mess of a desk. ]

[wildwarden]

( They can raincheck. God knows the poor guy couldn't get rid of her now if he tried, and she would absolutely be back to drag him around town once he was better.

Since she had two working arms and didn't feel like shit, Night Sky moved to assist him and speed the cleaning process up. She was flopping back down onto the empty bed afterwards. )

Soooooo. Getting your ass kicked by monsters aside, had any other adventures?

[enteloki]

[Good boys, good boys!!!

Adventures in hanging out with dogs - he's ruffling their big smart heads and doling out ear scratches.

They're even playing a light hearted game of catch with one of Maruki's shoes.]

[placation]

[ NONE THE WISER TO WHAT THE DOG DOIN, Maruki gratefully accepts the help before rejoining her. He can't flop – there is exactly one (1) position he can lay comfortably in – but he does gingerly settle to sit back down next to her, legs crossed, back straight. Like when they meditated, almost. ]

That was by far the most exciting thing to happen to me! And hey, you don't know, perhaps I kicked ass in return...

[ He never swears. It sounds strange coming from him. ]

Ah, I went camping up on a cliff to escape Akechi-kun's statue destruction one night. That was lovely. I'm assuming that you saw his demolition room?

[wildwarden]

You're right, I don't know. ( So if he wanted to tell her some grand tale of him kicking ass, maybe she would believe him. )

The Starlight cliffs? That's one of my favorite spots. ( she quirked a brow. ) Wait. He was trying to break that statue? Why?

[placation]

[ Oops.

You know, if Maruki knew what Akechi and the dogs were doing, maybe he wouldn't feel so bad about blowing his cover. Unfortunately, as it stands, he's still deep in the throes of That's My Fellow Liar, Ally and Confidant Pookie (Platonic) mode, so he winces apologetically. ]

Ah, it's meant to be his secret, don't tell him that I told you...

[ ........... but like. It IS pretty funny. ]

It's indestructible, as far as we know, so he seeks to destroy it. It's good exercise for him.

[wildwarden]

I mean, he did have a hammer. I just assumed he was... uh. Sculpting? ( She didn't really think too hard about the initial scene she walked in on, seeing as she hadn't come to bother Akechi and had been ushered out of his room fairly quickly. )

Weird, but be it far from me to judge people for their choice of exercise.

Anyway, next time you need to get away, you should come see me.

[placation]

[ Sculpting makes him laugh a little – actually, it might not be a bad idea to take an artist's chisel to it, something about the metaphor of artistic creation and destruction? He'll float the idea to Akechi.

But that offer– ]

Ah, do you mean it? I wouldn't want to intrude on your castle!

[ Yeah, it's not like anyone else in this bed intruded on a castle tonight, genius. ]

[wildwarden]

You wouldn't be intruding. Besides, you don't even have to go to the castle itself to find me - I'm usually outside in the garden. ( she tilted her head back to glance out the window. ) You can even see the top of my willow tree from here, I think. So it shouldn't be hard to find!

[enteloki]

[Jfc Maruki - how long is this little """"""meeting"""""" going to take? Listen he's no expert but-

Anyway. He's on a hunt for someone's laundry. Seems like the dogs could help fold it right now. Put them to work.

Bummer Akechi couldn't predict dogs couldn't do basic laundry tasks. Listen, he's not a pet owner. It's a learning process. Hank has a sock stuck on his nose and oh, Maruki's once clean shirt is suddenly around Bear Heart. How did this happen? Oh nooooooo.]

[placation]

[ what the fuck would you know, reddit incel

Maruki cranes to look out the window as well. ]

I guess you're right, we are close enough! Well, thank you for the invitation. I'll surely take you up on it.

[ Although, that camping trip is fresh in his mind. He looks back at Night Sky with a wry smile. ]

Do you sleep in the garden too?

[wildwarden]

( boys stop you're both pretty. )

Usually, unless it's cold, then I'll go inside. Why - thinking of going camping again?

[placation]

[ says the prettiest one of all!! ]

Hah, no– well, maybe! But it's just funny.

[ He fiddles with his sling, lost for what to do with his hands when he can't fold them together to ground himself. ]

Apparently, every kind and beautiful woman here is more than half a century old and sleeps outside. It's an interesting pattern. What are the odds?

[ And then he hears what he said and his eyes go wide and nervous. ]

Ah, I'm sorry! That was so unprofessional of me, I just meant it as a compliment!

[wildwarden]

( Night Sky blinks dumbly at him, the apples of her cheeks tinged with pink. She might be a terrible, nasty flirt with zero filter, but if there was one surefire way to fluster her, he just did it. )

You think I'm beautiful? ( Forget the rest of it. That there is more than one person he's describing (and good for him, hitting it off with multiple old as hell women!) and all that. Night Sky zeroed in on that. Yeah, people call her beautiful all the time - but that wasn't always the case. Once upon a time she was an emaciated, sick elf on death's door and people looked at her like she was a monster. )

[placation]

[ GREAT, NOW THEY'RE BOTH FLUSTERED AND BLUSHING LIKE IDIOTS ]

A-ah, well– of course I do, I mean, you've surely seen yourself!

[ A beat. ]

Oh, that sounded more tactless than I intended it to. I only meant–

[ And another beat before he buries his face in one hand, laughing weakly. ]

My apologies. What a mess. Please, accept the compliment and allow me to die quietly.

[wildwarden]

( Night Sky snorted out a laugh (embarrassing). )

It's okay, I know what you meant. Thank you, sweetness. ( Another pause. Then, she leaned in to kiss the top of his head while he desperately tried to hide his face.) I'm afraid I can't let you die though. It would make me sad.

[placation]

[ Oh.

He feels the kiss through his mess of hair, like a jolt of pure electricity. It's barely anything, a chaste gesture of gratitude, and yet it's more than he's had in years.

And he told Night Sky that, sitting in her garden, admitting a bit of his own mess to help her feel less bad about hers.

He drags the hand down his face just far enough to uncover his eyes and glance up at her, then manages – with great effort – to drop it away and sit up straight again, with a nervous laugh. ]

Well, what a turn this night took. I really thought I'd fall asleep face first into my research.

[ He pauses, realizes he hasn't heard the sounds of attempted statue destruction in quite some time.

Uh oh. ]

[wildwarden]

You seem like you needed a break anyway. ( Too many people she knew busied themselves with research and working to the point she started to see it as unhealthy. Maruki struck her as the type.)

Given your... current state, I can't really offer to make it that much more interesting, but if you want- ( A glance to the door, then back to him. She hummed, leaned in closer. ) I can keep you company tonight. Long walk back to my castle and everything.

[enteloki]

[Such a long sad walk to the castle, much like the long, sad, lonely walk Maruki's satchel has taken through the fish covered mud in the backyard. Thanks Bear Heart - you're a real one. The dog has it in its mouth courtesy of [one] Akechi who thought it would be best to air dry it after it was chewed on. What a kind chore he's taken on for an ungrateful roommate who can't tell his ''''''''situation partners'''''' what window to crawl through.

He gives Bear Heart another treat - good dog. Best dog. Smartest dog in the whole world.]

[placation]

[ .............. !?!?!?!?

Here's a fun thing: Maruki has zero pride about how absolutely clueless, maidenless and rizzless he is. Any charm he has lies in his earnestness, and so it's entirely without prevarication when he looks at Night Sky with a dumbfounded little smile and asks: ]

Could I... ask you to please be completely, entirely clear about what you mean by that before I answer?

[wildwarden]

Oh, sorry.

( She beams a smile so bright it could blind a man as she utters the most blunt thing she could possibly say. )

I was suggesting that if you weren't wounded, we could fuck. Since you are, I offered instead to just sleep over.

( now perish. )

[placation]

[ fucking what

LITERALLY ]

Haha!!! Oh.

[ Oh?

Haha. OH. ]

That's... That's a very generous offer...

[ SHE'S YOUR PATIENT? ]

Why don't we, ah, revisit that possibility in the future to discuss our options.

[ Nailed it. That's future Takuto's problem now, and more importantly, FUTURE DR. MARUKI'S PROBLEM. DON'T FUCK YOUR PATIENTS!

Something unsticks in his frozen brain and he looks wildly around the room. ]

Sleep over? Here? Ah, there's only one bed...

[ HOW DID YOU EVER LAND A WOMAN AT ALL? ]

[wildwarden]

( Absolutely incredible how endearing this motherfucker is...

Night Sky is laughing. If the walls weren't so thick Akechi could probably hear it. Give her a few seconds to calm down enough to speak. )

That's the idea, sweetness. We sleep in it. Together.

[placation]

[ And THAT'S how he lands women, actually. The bumbling sincere charmer act isn't even an act, and it works. Being laughed at by a beautiful woman after making a fool of himself? That's third base!

Wow. This is so brazen that he can't even have a minor mental shutdown over not having slept with anyone else in his bed for (tv static) years. Honestly, Sky, good job. ]

Sure, as long as you don't mind all the... this.

[ Vague lift of his fucked up arm. Which hurts and immediately makes him wince. The bumbling never ends.

A beat, and what's happening here does manage to sink in enough to make him cognizant of how strange this all is, but not enough to enter The Danger Zone. ]

You really are too kind, Night Sky. I can hardly believe it.

[wildwarden]

You can't? I've been flirting with you since we met.

( She reached out to gently pat his cheek, paused like she was going to say something else - and then suddenly remembered something. )

I should probably get the boys. I'm sure Akechi doesn't want to babysit them all night.