LET THE DARKNESS COME FOR ME

❝ No way, Jose! Doorbells are totally for normies. And you and Darumi are way past the point of being that! We've gotta wake each other up like the freaks we are! ❞

There was that characteristic Takumi freakout she'd come to expect. Not that it was ever unwarranted, especially when it came to the kind of antics she subjected him to from time to time. Darumi stood there, cackling to herself in amusement while he gradually gained his composure after his startling wakeup call. It was both very much like her, yet also not like her at all. Exactly her brand of 'humor', but she felt a lot more energetic than she normally did.

When he suddenly asked if anything was amiss, her laughter subsided. And her smile was replaced with a look of confusion.

❝ Something wrong? Not really. Unless you count us having to live through another boring day without anything horrendous happening to us. Just felt like coming to wake you up is all! Does Darumi need a reason to come see you? ❞

Well,  he  would  rate  that  wake  up  second  only  to  the  alarm  doing  it.  He  was  starting  to  calm  down  now,  at  the  very  least.  Deep  breaths.  He  wasn't  exactly  good  at  waking  up  in  general.  He  felt  full  of  energy  right  now  from  the  shock,  but  he  could  already  feel  a  headache  coming  on.

He  sighs,  he  had  slept  in  his  hoodie  again.  Oh  well.  He  had  washed  it  recently  enough.  He  is  grateful  that  he  had  since  the  idea  of  anyone  here  seeing  him  partly  naked  made  him  want  to  crawl  into  a  ditch  and  die.  He  yawns.  Stretches  a  little  bit.

"So  I'm  not  a  normie  anymore?"  He  asks.  He  wasn't  exactly  sure  if  her  seeing  him  like  that  was  good  or  bad.  He  felt...  Strange.  He  was  just  a  normal  person  but...  Maybe  he  had  changed  since  he  got  here.  He  wasn't  nearly  as  optimistic  as  he  thought  he  was.  He  wasn't  as  calm  or  easygoing.  Maybe  he  was  going  crazy  from  the  stress  of  it.

"I  would  prefer  nothing  bad  happen.  I've  seen  enough  awful  stuff  for  a  lifetime."  He  sighs  again,  covering  his  mouth  for  another  yawn.  He  couldn't  imagine  actually  wanting  bad  stuff  to  happen  like  that.  Maybe  he  really  would  never  understand  Darumi.

@azureblitzed said: Takumi has certainly been pushing himself too hard. As much as he loved sleep, it rarely came easy nowadays. And with important negotiations underway with another factions, he couldn't exactly self-medicate with alcohol and risk missing an important meeting. Eito was sitting beside him on his couch going over some forms they had to double check and... It was so hard to even listen. They had moved from the desk because he was starting to get sore sitting there for so long. He hears his name once but... It's hard to follow. He stares at him, blinking several times before. "Sorry. What? I..." Totally spaced out. "I didn't hear what you said." Despite it being normal volume and him sitting right beside him. But hey, his trouble sleeping wasn't anyone else's problem but his own. He leans back in his seat, shutting his eyes. If this goes on, he might actually fall asleep against Eito's shoulder. Or worse, actually on him... Or maybe he could just totally screw up the negotiations! Uhg, he feels sick to his stomach.

𝐓𝐎  𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃  𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓  𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍  𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐖𝐀𝐑-𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐍  𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃  𝐈𝐒  𝐀  𝐋𝐔𝐗𝐔𝐑𝐘  𝐍𝐎𝐓  𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐃  𝐓𝐎  𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓,  yet  Eito  finds  himself  basking  in  the  downtime  between  the  bouts  of  bloodshed.   Even  when  he's  not  fighting,  there  was  always  work  to  be  fulfilled  at  the  rebellion's  base  —  and  as  boring  as  it  may  be,  a  great  deal  of  it  was  desk  work  that  many  of  his  comrades  bemoaned.   While  not  her  immediate  second-in-command  or  secretary,  the  lieutenant  took  on  much  more  paperwork  from  Kamyuhn's  hands  than  what  was  required  of  someone  in  his  position;  the  transcribed  words  and  flurry  of  pages  were  easier  on  the  eyes  after  all,  soundless  voices  from  the  ink  a  𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐃𝐘  to  his  ears.    Ranging  from  important  peace  treaties  and  negotiations  to  supply  chain  logs  and  battle  reports,  there's  little  that  has  escaped  Eito's  grasp  in  regard  to  the  logistics  of  this  war  campaign.   Such  work  allows  him  to  have  his  fingers  on  the  pulse  of  their  base's  functionality,  and  that  degree  of  control  was  enough  to  soothe  his  nerves.

It's  what  allows  him  to  have  respite  among  the  horrors  that  await  him  each  day.   When  his  already-limited  battery  for  social  interactions  has  run  dry,  at  least  he  can  make  himself  useful  in  this  way.

Of  course,  there  are  times  when  he  must  work  alongside  others  when  it  comes  to  certain  tasks,  but  at  least  it's  normally  with  his  favorite  little  monster.   Though  said  little  monster  is  often  a  chore  in  itself  —  Eito  isn't  oblivious  to  the  fog  obscuring  Takumi's  thoughts  given  how  his  beautiful  eyes  keep  glazing  over;  it  seems  that  this  method  of  verbally  reading  over  the  next  day's  meeting  notes  in  order  to  refine  certain  talking  points  isn't  enough  to  keep  the  general  focused.

At  one  point  Eito  simply  stopped  speaking  altogether  and  stared  at  the  red  monstrosity  sitting  next  to  him  (  entirely  too  close  for  comfort  on  most  days,  but  today  he's  able  to  tolerate  the  other's  presence  ),  and  there  wasn't  any  response.   Finally  he  just  says  Takumi's  name  with  an  air  of  annoyance,  and  that  gets  a  response.   Albeit  it's  one  that  just  further  annoys  him,  and  when  the  redhead's  eyes  slip  close,  he  simply  rolls  up  the  small  stack  of  papers  in  his  hand  and  𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒  Takumi  on  the  head.

❝  Don't  test  my  patience,  Takumi-kun.   If  you  need  a  break  for  one  of  your  infamous  naps,  then  just  say  so  instead  of  pretending  that  you  are  lucid  enough  for  work.  ❞   When  was  the  last  time  he's  actually  seen  the  other  sleep?   If  the  former  SDU  wasn't  in  the  middle  of  a  battle,  Eito  often  found  Takumi  trying  to  drown  himself  in  whatever  work  needed  to  be  done  around  the  base  or  in  his  office.  .  .  or  at  the  end  of  a  wine  bottle,  but  that's  a  vice  to  be  tackled  another  day.

So  despite  his  condescending  statement,  he  can't  truly  recall  the  last  time  Takumi  has  taken  a  step  back  and  relaxed.   

If  only  it  was  that  easy.  Takumi  used  to  nap  to  avoid  having  to  think.  What  happened  when  dozing  off  only  showed  him  re-runs  of  his  past  mistakes  or  revealed  horrible  possible  futures?  Even  when  he  tried  to  nap,  he  would  wake  up  feeling  worse.  Best  case,  drenched  in  sweat  with  tears  in  his  eyes.  Worst  case,  screaming  and  in  a  blind  panic.  He  had  too  many  demons  now.  Too  much  blood  on  his  hands.

The  whack  on  his  head  had,  at  the  very  least,  stirred  him  awake  a  little  bit.  He  blinks,  rolling  Eito's  words  over  in  his  mind.  The  jab  to  his  side  gets  a  flinch  that  is  a  little  overdramatic.  Oh  well.

He  sighs,  running  a  hand  through  his  hair.  It  was  getting  longer  and  pushing  it  out  of  his  face  only  gave  him  peace  for  a  second  before  it  fell  back  over  his  forehead.  Another  sigh.

"Give  me  a  break,  I  haven't  napped  like  that  since  we  were  in  the  academy."  Only  a  little  true.  He  spent  more  than  a  few  days  rotting  away  in  bed  after  Nozomi...  After  she  was  gone.

He  stood  up,  his  head  aching  dully  from  the  strain  of  staring  at  papers  while  sleep  deprived.  He  was  mumbling  to  himself.  Trying  to  find  the  little  coffee  maker  he  used  at  his  desk  that  Tsubasa  had  gifted  him.  He  had  moved  it  onto  the  floor  beside  the  desk  because  of  the  amount  of  books  stacked  about.  He  moved  a  stack  of  folders  to  the  floor  and  put  the  coffee  maker  in  its  rightful  place.  He  had  a  special  drawer  with  his  coffee  grounds,  which  weren't  that  easy  to  get  sometimes.  He  missed  the  fancy  lattes  and  cafe  au  lait  he  could  get  in  the  complex  academy.  But  anything  was  better  than  nothing,  and  he  had  gotten  good  enough  at  making  a  decent  cup.

He  hastily  puts  the  new  filter  in,  tossing  the  dirty  one  into  the  trash  can  he  keeps  by  his  desk  and  it  landed  with  a  wet  thwap  on  top  of  the  discarded  notes  stashed  inside.  And  he  starts  another  pot.

"There.  Problem  solved.  Let's  take  a  few  minutes  and  continue.  You  want  a  cup?"  He  forces  a  smile.  He  walks  around  the  front  of  his  desk  and  leans  on  it.  Standing  is  certainly  better  for  not  falling  asleep  against  his  lieutenant's  firm,  warm,  strong  (Oh  my  god,  shut  up!)  chest.

A  yawn.  But  he  is  at  least  somewhat  awake.  Kind  of.  And  the  caffeine  would  help!  For  sure!  A  perfect  bandage  to  the  problem!  And  he  could  keep  working.  Not  that  he  planned  on  working  at  all  until  the  coffee  was  in  his  stomach.

𝐘𝐎𝐔   𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄   𝐌𝐄   𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐊 

add   ‘reverse’  to the ask for the positions to be reversed

1. a kiss to the palm

2. a peck on the lips

3. a sad kiss goodbye

4. a peck on the cheek

5. a kiss on an old scar

6. a kiss to the knuckles

7. a kiss to the forehead

8. a kiss on a healing bruise

9. an excited kiss as a reunion 

10. a kiss to the top of the head

11. a kiss on a bandaged wound

12. a stolen kiss somewhere public

13. a sleepy kiss in the early morning 

14. a deep, passionate kiss on the lips

15. a kiss goodnight after a date gone well

16. a desperate kiss to your wounded muse

17. and awkward kiss after a date gone wrong

18. a lot of laughing, little kisses across the face

19. a kiss on the shoulder while hugging from behind 

"Well, I have read about many of humanity's sins and such, and Pride Month has shown up in that research. Of course, I don't celebrate such a thing for the obvious reasons, but. . ."

He gives Takumi a rather studious glance over.

"I've heard of it??? I just don't really know much about it. Karua probably told me about it. I just don't remember at this exact moment."