#askultimateluckytrash

Hibiki was surprised to hear from Nagito. It wasn't that they aren't friends, but it was that Nagito hadn't exactly been on the best terms with Hibiki in a while, and the apologies all felt stiff. Maybe it was just desperation that made him reach out-- it wasn't like either of them had the closest set of friends-- but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He quickly types out a message and gets ready to send it, something nonchalant, dismissive. But he did want to talk to Nagito, of course. He missed him, in spite of himself. So he sighs and deletes the message, typing out something else instead. "Hey, Nagi, what's up? Not a lot to report, better or worse, but it's whatever. You?"

he scoffs, clearly unamused. “and since when was i trying to do that?”

Miyako was unsurprised to see he had missed a call while she was asleep, but she was surprised to hear Nagito on the other end. He had been very receptive in their sessions, but she could tell he was still uncertain about accepting her help. Normally this would mean that the client had had an emergency, or that things were going poorly, but by his tone, that didn’t seem to be the case. “Well,” she mutters to the empty room, “better to sate my curiosity than to speculate, yeah?” Immediately, she calls him back, pulling out her schedule and flipping to the coming week. Patiently, she waits for the ringing to stop, and for his voice to answer at the other end.

Leon tilted his head. "Huh? What're ya talking about?"

Certainly. I’m going to need your name and a date when you’re available. I currently don’t have anything scheduled, but I’ll let you make that decision.

“Aww, don’t sweat it, my friend! My clock’s still showin’ y’all made it with plenty of time to spare and it ain’t like I wouldn’t accept belated birthday wishes neither!

Anyways, thank you for takin’ the time out to say so, Nagito! I appreciate it!”

Rather than that allowance being enough to allow him through, the pulled him inside rushed him to the side, having him wait as they called up to the apartment and had Hibiki verify that he was expecting someone. When they got the go-ahead, they cautiously escorted him into the elevator, staying close to him as they swiped a key and pressed the button to Hibiki’s floor. The pair rides silently up to the floor, and when the doors open, his escort gives him a small bow and points down the hall. “On the left.” The doors slide closed behind him, and the elevator readily sinks back to the ground floor without it’s other passenger. Before Nagito can make his way down the hallway, though, Hibiki’s head cautiously peaks out from a doorway, ducking quickly back inside, tapping his foot as he waits by the cracked door for his guest to make his way to the apartment.

Hibiki perks up a little when the door opens, giving a blank, wide eyed look for a long moment before a smile creeps onto his face. His eyes drift to the flowers and back up to Nagito, and there’s a small spark that shines behind his eyes. He’s pale as death, with hematic whites that seem to dip between the swollen purple skin that lines the bottom of his eyes. His cheekbones seem to jut out from his face more than usual, but it may just be an illusion of the hospital lights.

He straightens up, holding out a shaky hand to wave him over, then lifting his mask to speak to him. “Hey, babe, good to see you.” He looks at the flowers-- Zinnias, thinking of you; cornflowers, luck; chamomile, perseverance. The meaning wasn’t lost on Hibiki, especially with their gifter being Nagito, who shared his love of flowers. “Sorry about the setting.”