tabularasa_rp | [open] because i can only be me

(Freeze.

He didn't expect Akechi to ask, or even touch the subject himself, seen how he already was talking business from the moment he sat down. Ren's heart sank for a second, not for the question, but for the fact that apparently, they're talking about it.)

Either way that went, not fighting beside you was never an option.

(It's sincere, and the glasses leave from between his teeth and yet not back to his face, instead resting on the bar.)

Edited 2020-08-24 04:47 (UTC)

Good.

[Well, it doesn't entirely settle it, but he supposes the hit their teamwork will take in the short term won't matter in the long term. As long as Ren can keep himself together enough to face Maruki in the end, that's all that matters.

Rather than just sit and stare at him in silence, he opens his briefcase and pulls out the blank book that had been propping open the window in the apartment he'd chosen for himself. If Ren bothers to look, Akechi's writing in neat Japanese directions on how to properly use the bathhouse. Just like Ren has an insatiable urge to be in motion, Akechi needs to use his time in something he perceives as useful.]

(... That's it? He isn't sure if it brings him relief or just heightens the feeling that he does need to say something... Which will have to wait.

His plan to give Akechi a proper meal is back in motion and he will remain doing so until it's ready, glasses back to being nibbled and his pacing around the kitchen to get this, get that, take a sip of coffee he made in the meantime, so on.

Ren doesn't notice the writing until he approaches with a plate, gently presented in front of Akechi. Honey is the special ingredient, so that we don't have another incident.)

[That's it.

Is what he would like to think, anyway. Every so often, he glances up from his writing in spite of himself, watching Ren move around the kitchen, preparing a meal from scratch just for him. It's not something he's had anyone do for him before outside of a restaurant for a very long time. Even his mother rarely had time or energy to cook a homemade meal for him. As much as Heavenly Blanc looks and acts like a restaurant, he's not paying Ren, and he'd already offered to just do it himself. He'd have gotten by with the raw fruit and vegetables in the fridge if Ren had refused to serve him.

Instead, just like when he makes him coffee, there's a weird domesticity to it. And that's just as dangerous as kissing him, yanking at something in the center of Akechi's chest that he thought he'd buried long ago. It's something he selfishly wants, but knows he can't have. It tightens the muscle in his jaw and tenses his shoulders, but his handwriting remains impeccable.

...It smells delicious. Akechi sets the book aside as Ren slides the plate of finished curry in front of him, staring down at it. For a moment, it's as if his throat has closed up, but he forces himself to speak past it.]

Thank you.

[It's soft, but it's audible. He exhales a sigh through his nose and reaches for utensils to start eating.]

(While Akechi is having that existential crisis, Ren's own mind is very busy coming up with what to do now. Should he sit or should he just give Akechi's space to eat in peace, without their situation tainting what could otherwise be a very pleasant meal?

Not to mention, now that he's not in motion and occupied, he has the time to revisit the facts... Which would probably break his mind for a while, but it's when he started to ponder, Akechi thanks him in a tone he hasn't heard in a while.

All the possible anger goes out the window for now, Ren just giving him a smile with teeth and eyes almost closed, cat-like before he buys himself time - turning back to the bar to put his apron back on its place.)

You're welcome. I hope it's good.

Edited (how did i fuck up 3 times) 2020-08-24 05:21 (UTC)

[What a smile. He can't help but stare for a moment before roughly shaking his head and digging into the curry. It's as delicious as it smells, and while he doesn't intend to compliment Ren once again and further inflate his ego, he can't imagine that even Sojiro's curry could be better than this. It's infinitely better than the raw apple or carrot he'd have scrounged out of the fridge on his own.]

...Is this honey? [he asks after a minute or two. And while he's not saying he's enjoying it aloud -- no Detective Prince it's delicious -- from the speed he's eating it and the slightly, slightly softer expression on his face, it's obvious it's good.] I hadn't expected such an ingredient in curry.

(Ren pretends to be busy with cleaning up the kitchen for the time being, but mostly he's just scanning what Akechi's reactions are and trying not to smile even more than what he already was when they were so positive. There's something incredibly interesting about cooking for others, he thinks. It's amazing to be able to brighten one's day with a well-brewed cup of coffee or a homemade meal, but this is Akechi, so there's that other layer to be happy about.

!

How perceptive, calling out his secret ingredient like that. Next thing was to bring the coffee he had made to go along with it - Indonesian Kopi Luwak, the most expensive one they had back at LeBlanc. Akechi doesn't have to know, and God was that coffee divine. He's even poured a cup for himself.)

It is. Helps to make the meat tender and makes the spices more bodied.

(Sojiro taught him well.)

Edited 2020-08-24 05:49 (UTC)

Fascinating. You know, I've always heard that cooking is a science.

[He's good at discerning flavors from his time spent eating sweets and building his brand, but would never be able to combine them well himself into something new.

It almost feels normal, eating like this with Ren behind the bar. The coffee only moreso, the scent of the coffee and curry truly making it feel like he's back in Leblanc, in September, before they were literally at each other's throats, when they could have been great rivals, or perhaps even friends.

So the slight quirk to his lips is slightly melancholic as he reaches for the coffee and takes a sip.]

...Hm? This is a different blend, isn't it?

In theory, it doesn't stray far from chemistry itself.

(From all his talks with Sojiro, all the different combinations and the way they react with one another changing a plate in an instant. It's one of his favorite hobbies, one he feels very proud to even have considering the teacher.

The mood lightened enough for him to just find some peace in this encounter, forearms on the counter as he leans, allowing some of his tension to dissipate. With Akechi's second observation, Ren chuckles. At least let Ren keep some of his secrets.)

It sure is.

Next thing you'll tell me that working with Sakura-san is how you learned to make Molotovs.

[His lips quirk into the smallest of smirks, not really expecting Ren to reveal his secrets so easily. Still, it is a delicious combination. More than he deserves.

If he hadn't come here, he'd never have tasted it. Never allowed himself to visit Leblanc for anything but business, or stayed there long enough for more than a cup of coffee. For all he knows, Maruki's deadline has already passed, and he's either dead or no longer himself in that reality. There isn't much difference.

Who's to say they'll even remember any of this when they manage to go back? Who's to say that however their memories were tampered with upon arrival wouldn't strike again? He doesn't know. He can't know. He can't let himself dwell on what-ifs when he has to keep such a concrete goal in mind.

For now, at least, he'll allow himself to savor this stolen moment where he can pretend that things are normal between them.]

No, that I've learned from my cat.

(Which both know is real, regardless of the absurdity of the words. It makes him snicker, shaking his head playfully before he takes a sip of the coffee. He didn't have much opportunity to experiment back home, where money matters and none of this is really his, not even the mattress on top of milk crates where he sleeps.

Here's been another story, with much more freedom than he ever experienced after receiving that stain in his record. Maybe, thinking about it, this can also be said about Akechi. There's something quite inherently freeing being somewhere where their past is for them to own.)

Speaking of. I've been working. We have enough infiltration tools for a lifetime.

Of course.

[He huffs a quiet laugh through his nose and shakes his head. Morgana, the cat of many talents. He decides he doesn't want to think about the logistics of how cat paws can craft infiltration tools and bombs, and simply accept it as fact. The cat can turn into a bus. Why can't he make tools as well?

But where Ren feels free here, Akechi can only feel trapped with Maruki's deadline hanging over his head like Damocles' sword. He knows better than to think that the other boy might grow content here when there's still work to be done -- when the Phantom Thieves aren't here -- but it's still a constant worry in the back of his mind. That no matter what he does, he's living on borrowed time.

For now, he tries to push that aside, focusing on enjoying the curry.]

I was wondering how you'd picked the lock to my room. The flowers were yours, weren't they?

[As always, though, whenever he's in a peaceful situation, he can't help but toss in something to potentially destroy it. Sure, the flowers may have been a gift from before their time in the bathhouse together, but they certainly take on a new light in the wake of, well. What happened.]

(Not a chance that Ren would rather stay, Akechi is right on that part. The relentless search for the Thieves is more proof than any words he could say - they need him back home, and if they make it here, there's no way he's leaving them to fend for themselves alone.

Unfinished business are unfinished business and Ren never has had a problem to put something like that on top of his own needs.

Ren had finished his coffee, taking the dishes he sees around him back to the sink when Akechi spoke again.
He cannot help himself, can he...

Listen, if Akechi can throw a glove on his face, Ren certainly can make a statement too.)

They were.

Of course.

[His teeth grit briefly before he forces himself to unclench his jaw. What answer was he expecting? Isn't it more reassuring to know without a shadow of a doubt that it is Ren, and not some unknown third party with access to the one space Akechi's chosen to call his own?

He takes another sip of coffee with a conscious effort to keep his face and voice neutral.]

I suppose asking you not to break into my room again is pointless, isn't it?

(???? Is that what the calling out what about?? Ren doing the one thing he does, but not the flowers themselves?

He's not about to give Akechi a bullshit excuse, so he just raises his shoulders and drops them.)

You need a better lock. I'm sure anyone could break in anywhere with effort.

[Patience, Ren! That's coming.]

Spoken like a true thief.

[He takes a careful sip from his coffee before meeting Ren's eyes.]

Then I suppose you'll simply have to craft a better lock then, won't you? If "anyone" can break in, that is.

(False sense of security!

He is what he is, no talk backs on the comment until the last one.)

Huh. Maybe. I don't mind that as much.

(He didn't even have a door before, Akechi.)

I do.

[Well, whatever. If anyone breaks in, finally maybe Akechi can have some fun. Surely neither Cole nor Ren could fault him for self-defense? In any case, he'll need to find a good hiding place for his briefcase when he's not in his room.

It's almost deceptively calm as he takes another sip from the coffee cup, inhales briefly through his nose, and glances back to Ren.]

You can have the flowers back, by the way.

[Considering Akechi did reject his feelings, he thinks.]

You have no idea what they mean, do you?

(Makes sense to him that Akechi wouldn't want them there given the circumstances, but also... Maybe the fact he doesn't know about something as gentle as flowers comes in handy for Ren to have the upper hand at this one.)

I'm not an idiot, Ren.

[He might not know what the colors or blossoms mean, but he knows what giving someone flowers means! Which is precisely how he's taking this question.]

(So sorry, Akechi, but he wants to laugh so badly.

People give flowers all the time, for many different meanings other than the one he chose.)

Flower sending like this is not my style. You've misread it.

(So no, this isn't about the fact Ren very much wants to drag him to the attic.)

Oh?

[Okay, now his annoyance does show clearly on his face, because he doesn't like being proven wrong. He sets down the coffee cup and rests his chin in his hand, eyes meeting Ren's in a challenging, stony glare.]

How so?

(The glare is welcomed by one of his own, equally defiant in manner.

He does feel the blood boiling on his cheeks, giving them a rosy blush - he hates it, but there's no way he's pulling back.)

I'm sure you can figure it out, Detective.

(Ah, it's satisfaction that paints the grin on Ren's face.

It's just delicious to know something Akechi doesn't, as ridiculous as flower meanings.

Less so considering it was a confirmation for their rematch.)

[His hand drops to the bar as he keeps his gaze on Ren, and he can feel a heat rising to his own cheeks as Ren rebuffs his question. Fuck. It's too easy to fall into challenging him again, thinking about how he could reach across this bar right now and kiss him, and Ren wouldn't even protest. He could silence that sharp tongue of his so easily...

He forces himself to lean back in an attempt to break the tension building between them, shaking his head.]

Fine. You're unbelievable, you know that?

(Ren won this round, but there will be many more to come considering who they are and how they are.

The grin only stretches more at the comment. Like you're actually doing something about how the bar feels at least 5 degrees hotter, Akechi.)

And what does that make you?

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p5r spoilers lmfao

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